


Honour

by sisterawesomeness



Category: Transformers - All Media Types, Transformers AU - Fandom
Genre: Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-09-10
Updated: 2015-09-10
Packaged: 2018-04-20 03:22:35
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 22
Words: 28,713
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4771592
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/sisterawesomeness/pseuds/sisterawesomeness
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>A.J.'s upset because she's pretty sure she just died. Only to pop up on an alien planet and run into a Cybertronian named Drift. If she knew anything about the war she'd realize he is wanted by the Decepticons. How will she survive on a hostile world with a Decepticon traitor?</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Prologue: Strong

**Author's Note:**

> I own nothing but my OC A.J. Was originally posted on my fanfic account.

I may be stupid, as you say, to believe in honour and friendship and loyalty without price. But these are virtues to be cherished, for without them we are no more than beasts roaming the land. –David Gemmel

~*~

I can say I've prided myself on being a strong person. It's a rare day that I cry, unless I watch a sad ass movie involving animals but come on. I don't scare easily either. Over the years I've found I rarely get nervous. It's not that I'm confident or arrogant. Simply, I find I've rarely found much to give a shit about in my life. When you don't put much value in anything then there's not much to lose is there?

Most of my life's been in a haze. Boring routines, connections, interactions. Basically, the same thing day after seemingly endless day. I might as well have been one of those silent extras in a play. Just hanging back and letting others act things out.

But that's changed now. For probably the first time in my life I do care. I care about what happens on this battlefield. What happened to Wing… And what's going to happen to the only true friend I have left.

"Drift!" I yelled as that freaky alien made his way over to us. "Come on," I climbed onto his chest. "Get up!"

"A.J.," he rasped out in pain. "Run."

"No," I answered him. "I'm not going to leave you."

"Well," the alien smirked at us and raised his spear. "Isn't that sweet."

As I sat there looking between where Wing lay, the alien, and Drift I felt myself shaking. I wasn't as strong as I thought. I was merely indifferent. Being strong meant standing up even when there's no chance you'll win. Of defending those you care about even if you have to sacrifice yourself to do it. It's facing true fear head on even if you're terrified.

And right now I feel like shitting my pants.


	2. Bullshit

I figured my day was going to be shitty but I never would have thought it would be my last. No one really knows when their last day is. If I'd known this was mine I woulda at least listened to some more music instead of my family bitching at each other.

From the moment we got up Tim and Sarah were constantly crying or whining about something. What Dad was thinking driving us all here was beyond me. He sure as hell didn't want to see some waterfall and neither did any of the rest of us. Guess it was because Sandy thought it would be romantic or something. Farthest thing from it.

My step-brother kept texting his latest girlfriend while our little half siblings made it their mission in life to fight over everything. I kept my headphones on the whole time and blared music. After more arguing than eating and it taking over three hours getting ready we finally went to this thing. Although the entire time the tour was happening Sarah kept crying and complained she was hungry. Tim was being even more of a brat than usual and kept hounding me for my phone.

"I want to play Angry Birds!" he hoped up but I kept it out of his reach.

"Too bad," I countered. "Just wait and borrow Sandy's phone when we go eat or something."

"No!" he started throwing the fifth tantrum today. "I want it now!" his voice became so high-pitched and loud some people looked over. My brother had two tones, loud and louder. The only ones oblivious to it were Dad who was trying to handle Sarah crying about how her feet hurt now and Sandy who told Kevin to get off his phone already. They were used to it by now and Kevin tuned us all out. I was only paying attention now because Tim had rudely ripped my earplugs out.

"No," I told him. He broke his own phone a week ago and there was no way I was going to let him handle mine. The first time he'd lose he'd either slam it down in frustration or into one of us and break it. I needed my music to keep me sane on this trip from hell. "Deal with yourself."

"I hate you!" I simply rolled my eyes and ignored him. _Excuse me for being the only person in your whole life to tell you no._ I expected him to go screaming off to Dad or Sandy about how mean I was. It's what he usually did. In retrospect I should've seen what he did next coming.

I happened to glance down at my phone to see how much battery I had left and that's when he did it. He pushed me with all he had. He must've run at me to knock me off guard that much. Because the next thing I know I went flying over the guardrail backward. Then, I was falling.

It was weird. Things seemed to happen slowly as I stared dumbly up at the sky. I didn't even hear the roaring of the waterfall on either side of me. Images of my life didn't flash before my eyes. I didn't even feel scared, though that been due to shock. Instead, I was a bit mad. My last day had sucked and I died just because my stupid brother didn't get his way for once. If I'd had time to think properly I might have laughed at the situation.

But I didn't have the chance. I am fairly certain I managed to get my final words out. I said, "Bullshit," before darkness engulfed me.


	3. First Encounter

I'm not too sure what I expected. Bright lights, pearly gates, maybe the road to hell. I didn't expect to feel absolutely nothing either when I fell. One second I was falling and the next I was engulfed in darkness. I couldn't see anything or hear. But I could feel. In fact, I figured I must have still been in my physical body because I felt my phone in my hand. Weren't you supposed to leave all that behind when you kicked?

Then a slow bluish light caught my eye. Not hard seeing as it was the only source of light nearby. It seemed to grow brighter before my eyes. "Hello, child," a voice greeted me. I honestly couldn't tell if it was from a male or female.

"Hello?" I was lost at this point. "Who are you? Where am I?"

"Curious as ever," was the reply. "But I admire that about you precious one. Even now you do not fear."

"Did I die?"

"No."

That gave me a little pause. At least whoever or whatever this voice was had given me one straight answer. "Mind telling me what I'm doing here? Where even is 'here'?"

"You are where you need to be and you are still needed… But not on your home world."

"Huh? Can you just give me a straight answer please? You're losing me. And what do you mean by my 'home world'?"

"Someone needs you. And remember this young one. Whatever may happen I will be there with you."

The light grew so bright I actually had to cover my eyes. "Wait!" I called out. "Who are you?"

"I am…"

~*~

I gasped and bolted upright. "What?!" Instinctively, I got to my feet and stumbled a bit. I remembered but not how I got to where I was. After a few seconds I was able to right myself without losing my balance and took in my surroundings.

I was standing on rocky ground and nothing stretched for as far as I could see. "Where am I? HOLY SHIT!" I glanced up at the sky and noticed two suns and a freaking green planet up in the sky. "Wha? Uh… You've…" I ran my hands through my hair. The air was dry and it was warm but not too hot. "Man," I kicked a rock. I definitely wasn't on 'my world' anymore.

I've always wanted some excitement in my life but this was ridiculous. What the hell was all that about anyway? Whoever that was might as well have been talking in riddles. And who needed me? Guess I was supposed to find them or something. "Great."

Seeing as I didn't have any other option I decided to pick a direction that felt relatively right and walked that way. I walked for a decent while and still there was nothing. No sign of anyone, alien or whatever, or even any landscape. Just rocks and dirt kicked up occasionally by the wind. _For an alien planet this sure is boring. I'm sure I'm gonna regret thinking that later like people in alien horror movies. Watch an alien come out of nowhere and chase me or some shit._

But nothing did. It was pretty boring to just keep walking. I was sort of glad I had a couple of snakes and drinks in my pack. Guess who got nominated to carry the snacks today? Haha. But I didn't touch them because I had no clue how long I'd be here or even if I found anything if it would be edible.

I'm not sure how long I'd been walking when I jumped when I heard a loud "bang" sound. "What the heck?" I looked up and saw a fiery streak falling through the sky. It seemed to be some sort of ship. It was headed in the general direction I'd been going. It came so close to me I actually felt the heat radiate off of it.

It crashed and sounded bad from where I stood. I ran to where I'd guessed it had landed. It took me five minutes but I found the site. Craters littered the ground where it must've bounced a few times. _Could someone survive an impact like that?_ I was about to find out. I had no other leads to go on in this wasteland.

I found the ship and it reminded me of all those escape pod things you see in sci fi movies. It was freaking huge. I kept a decent distance, for all I knew it could explode or whoever was in it was none too friendly. Part of it seemed to be missing and I found what must've been the door. "Damn," I muttered. This thing had to be about seven or eight times bigger than a normal door. And I was probably lowballing it. _Wonder who was in this thing and if they made it._

I didn't have to wait long for my answer. I heard something behind me and turned around out of instinct. Not fifty feet away from me was some sort of giant robot. I don't think I even came up to the equivalent of its kneecaps. "Holy shit," I effectively broke the awkward silence.

It stared at me with glowing red, I guessed, eyes. There was a tense moment after my little outburst where we stood staring at each other. If this got hostile I was screwed. This thing could get to me in a few steps and all it would have to do was step on me.

The robot or it was in my mind broke the staring contest. It spoke a series of sounds I could only call beeps, whirls, clicks, and noises there was no way a human could make. It actually hurt a little and I wondered if I could even hear all of what it said. When it was done it paused and waited for a response.

"Sorry," I told it. "I didn't understand a word you said and I'm guessing it's too much for me to hope you know English huh?"

~*~

He paused for a second when the small creature responded. It used a language he didn't have stored in any of his data banks. And by the expression on its organic faceplates it didn't understand Cybertronian. Just great.

"Is this your planet?" he tried to get across. If it could lead him to some sort of civilization he might be able to find a ship. Or fix his pod in the worst case.

~*~

I didn't get what he was asking at first. Not until he pointed to himself, the pod thing, and then the sky. Then he pointed to me and the planet. "Oh, you wanna know if I live here? Sorry no and I'm guessing you don't either. Looks like we're both stranded." I pointed to myself and the sky as well. Then I pointed to the ground and shrugged. I hoped it would get the hint that I was as lost as he was.

~*~

Whatever this creature was it didn't belong here either. He considered he should consider himself lucky it was smart enough to understand what he meant. But it was stranded like he was and he didn't see a ship. He doubted it would leave a valuable ship if it had one or knew the terrain. Which meant it wouldn't know if this planet was inhabited.

"You're of no use to me."

~*~

I might not get what he was saying but I could pick up on the tone. It sounded condescending. It turned away from me and headed back toward its ship. "I wonder if you're the one I'm supposed to help," I threw out there. It kept an eye on me like I was going to sneak up on him and hurt him. I doubted I could even if I wanted to.

It opened a compartment in the side, took out some type of bluish cubes and placed it in its chest. Then it looked at me, glanced around us, and headed off. For a second I stood there not exactly knowing what to do. "Hey," I yelled walking after it. "Wait up."


	4. Look Who's Back

He heard the creature speak. It sounded as if it was coming after him. He turned to face it, it didn't seem hostile but one could never afford to let their guard down. When he did it stopped and looked up at him. It couldn't have been much bigger than a glitchmouse. "Go your own way," he said. "I can't help you." The next second he continued on his way. Until he heard it following him again. He stopped once more and turned to glare at it. "Go away," his tone took on a more threatening vibe. If he had one of his weapons he could have fired at it in warning to show how serious he was.

It didn't seem all that affected and simply stopped when he did. This time he glanced over his shoulder at it when he took a step. It took a few of its own and that's when he acted.

He turned on it as quickly as he could and charged. Surprise registered in its small green optics and it backed up quick. It ran back to the door but stopped when he did. It muttered something in that strange language. He didn't understand but the tone was clear. It was irritated. "Now you know how I feel. If you're smart or have any self-preservation you will stay away from me."

His vents activated in anger when he heard it once again following him. It was lucky it hadn't encountered any other Decepticons. It would've been crushed or shot by now. "Very well." He transformed and it let out a surprised sound. "Keep up with me if you can."

~*~

"My lord," I gasped. First it had run at me in a fake charge and now it transformed into some sort of car. It said something and then sped off. Bits of rock and dust flew everywhere in the wake. "You've got to be kidding me." What I'd seen was unbelievable and cool. But it sped off and there was no way in hell I was going to catch it.

"Well fine!" I hugged my arms to me as it began to grow cooler. I noticed the suns were going down. "Nice." After some debate I went over to the abandoned ship. It was no longer burning and I figured if it was going to explode it would have done it already. Using cracks from where it had landed I was able to climb up into it. There were computer screens all over the place. There was also a chair and steering wheel. I was no expert on this stuff but by the cracks in the screens and pieces hanging off I bet it was trashed. No wonder he ditched it.

"Whatever," I managed to crawl inside a panel and kept warm during the night. Not the best situation but better than freezing to death or out there being exposed. As I amazingly managed to drift off I couldn't help it as my mind went to some weird places. Earlier I'd thought of that robot as a "he". For all I knew it didn't have a gender, after all it was a machine. A living machine… Guess it was easier than saying "it" all of the time. I just didn't get feminine vibes and our culture does say the masculine form before the feminine most of the time. I suppose it didn't matter much now. He was gone and not coming back by the looks of this place. I should be more worried about myself and not wherever it was he'd run off to. "Never trust a weird voice that sends you to distant planets."

~*~

I awoke to a familiar noise the next morning. At least I think it was because light had made its way into the ship when I moved the panel. "It can't be," I climbed up to where the door had been ripped off and poked my head out. "Well look who's back."

~*~

He hadn't had any luck the entire cycle. He hadn't stopped to recharge but kept on. It was difficult to keep a direction when he couldn't see any landmarks and something about the magnetic poles were messing with his sensors. So far there'd been no sign of anything but rocks and dirt. Until a dot came into view.

He sped toward it but was disappointed when it turned out to be his own rescue pod which meant he'd gone in one large circle. He transformed when he came upon it and banged a servo into the side of it while letting out a Cybertronian curse. He'd just wasted energon running all over this accursed planet. However, he looked up when he heard something.

The little organic from the other day was staring at him from inside the pod. It cocked its head at him and smiled. But he knew that type of smile. It was a smirk that meant, "I knew you'd be back."

~*~

"Hi," I waved at him. "I guess your little trip around the world didn't work out?" He simply glared at me. "Oh you can figure out my tone too? Good so we understand each other. Kind of. Maybe. This sucks all around pal so don't look at me. You at least came here in a ship. Not by some stupid voice who talks in riddles and leaves you stranded with no idea where you are or what the hell you're supposed to do!" I got angrier as I talked and banged the ship myself. It must not have been important if he did it. "You're the advanced alien robot why don't you have a game-plan?" I crawled out of the ship and stood looking up at him. "Lead the way dude, and I'd prefer it if you didn't leave me in the dust this time."

~*~

He didn't know what it was saying but it didn't sound too happy. But it didn't seem directed at him as it banged on the ship and then climbed down. Now it was gazing up at him like it was waiting for him to do something. It even moved one of its arms as if to say, "Go ahead. Get moving."

He rubbed the area between his optics. First he was branded a traitor and crashed on a seemingly deserted planet. Now he had to deal with an annoying organic. "I'm asking too much for you to leave? You must have no self-preservation instincts." He wouldn't be able to transform and drive off again. He'd wasted enough energon as it was. And although he was a Decepticon he didn't feel like off-lining this being. Other than following him she hadn't technically done anything to him. Yet.

Wait. When did he begin to think of her as a femme? Her frame roughly resembled one but he had no evidence to back it up. He didn't know much about organics in general because Decepticons weren't prone on dealing with squishes. Unless playing around and ending them counted. He figured it didn't matter. Unless he could figure it out he might as well refer to her as a fem. Not like it would offend her and it was easier than saying "it".

~*~

I watched him for a bit and he seemed to be thinking something over. Until he picked a direction opposite the one he'd gone before and headed that way. This time when I followed him he only looked back once. He seemed to shrug it off and kept going. "At least we're getting somewhere."


	5. Acceptable Background Noise

It was not easy keeping up with his big metal ass. I had to take about twenty or so steps to his one. Being short was not coming in handy in this situation. But I managed by basically jogging. He wouldn't let up so if I wanted a break I either had to hang back and run my ass off to catch up or run ahead and wait for him to pass me. Either way it wasn't very fun. I hate running.

I had to take a drink of my water after a while as it got hotter out. But I knew I'd have to make both the bottles last. My stomach complained but I figured I could ignore it until either that night or the next day. I only had two bags of chips and one candy bar. Would have had another one but Tim just had to eat it that morning. Little brat I hope he gets the shits for it. This meant I wouldn't be in the best mood ever. I got cranky when I got hunger headaches.

Although my mood lightened a little when we saw mountains in the distance. I knew it didn't necessarily mean we were closer to anything but at least it was _something_ in this barren land.

"Boring!" I gasped feeling like my feet were screaming. The mountains looked like they were right there but we'd been walking for hours. In fact, the stupid suns were setting again. He hadn't stopped the whole time and I nearly lost him when I had to wait and go to the bathroom. I was thankful he didn't turn around. "Guess it's because this place is so flat. Hey, robo-man. We gonna stop for the night or what?"

He didn't look at me. Except for the one instance when we started he hadn't even glanced to see if I was still following him or not. I couldn't tell if I cared or not. I settled for no and tried to keep myself busy to keep my mind off my hurting feet. I talked to him but he didn't even acknowledge whether he heard me. I didn't mind, I normally wasn't a talker but I felt I needed to fill in the awkward silence that had settled in between us. I would've listened to my music but I didn't want to kill the battery on my phone just yet. I doubted I'd be able to make a call but you never know.

He finally stopped and I couldn't tell if this was going to be a fake out or not. He glanced up at the sky that was nearly pitch black by this point and glanced around. He looked at me for a second before he actually sat down. He put one of his hands on a bent knee and peered around again. "Really?" I asked. "Please don't tell me you're shitting me. My feet couldn't take it." He didn't answer me in any matter as he kept an eye out. "Finally," I took a few more steps and nearly collapsed about twenty feet from him.

I set my bag aside and took a breather. When I glanced over at him he had taken out one of those cubes he'd taken from the ship and took a sip from it. "That's your water then?" This time he actually tilted his head at me and gave me a look. I think he was wondering whether or not I wanted what he had. "I got my own shit," I told him and pulled out the candy bar. I took two bites before I put it away. I was thirsty and my tongue was sticking to the roof of my mouth but I ignored it and told myself I'd get another drink in the morning. He put the cube away after looking at it some more. He eyed it like I did my water bottle and I figured he might have had three or so cubes left. Figuring he hadn't drank one when he left me behind. At least I thought he grabbed that many.

If he was conserving like I was then a few things were starting to make sense. I couldn't prove it but maybe transforming into that car and driving around took more energy. It would explain why he was walking and I knew it wasn't for my benefit. That meant he would either want to get more of that stuff or get off this rock. At least we had semi-common goals. But it seemed he didn't need to rest like I did or go to the restroom. Did that mean he didn't need sleep too? I had no idea.

I yawned and he gave me a weird look. Like he'd never seen someone do it before. I merely gave him a quick smile and curled up into a ball. I used my bag as a pillow. There was no cover and I didn't have anything to make a fire with. I didn't think he'd take kindly to me sleeping too close to him either. "This sucks ass," I complained as I shivered a little. It wasn't horribly cold but I wasn't comfortable either. I only hoped it wouldn't get any colder.

I awoke with a start to some sort of noise. "What?" I glanced around and saw he was on the move. "Hey!" I yelled at him and shot to my feet. "You were just going to leave me? Really? Not cool." I chased after him and got ahead of him so I could glare at him as he walked past. He seemed pretty indifferent to it but it made me feel a little better.

~*~

She glared at him. Probably upset he had left her and continued toward the mountains. Not that it mattered to him. He didn't want her tagging along in the first place but she seemed persistent. She talked in that strange language of hers quite a lot but he could tell she was simply babbling. He didn't need to understand it to know her tone meant she was just as bored with what she was saying as he was.

He wouldn't admit it made acceptable background noise. He was perfectly fine with silence, had sought it out as often as he could when he was on the ship. All those Decepticons and most of them never could keep their mouths shut. Even the ship itself had made some noise and he didn't have the liberty of shutting off his audio sensors without the risk of missing an order. At first he had enjoyed only the sound of his engines as he traversed the rocky ground. He didn't make much noise simply walking like this. If he'd been alone the silence might have been defining. His audios not used to so little noise. There was barely any wind either.

But there she was. She kept on about matters he could only guess and lapsed into complete silence a few times before she started up again. This was mostly if she took something out of that bag she had or stopped to do whatever it was she did before she caught up to him again. Her voice, although strange and small, was not as irritating as he imagined. Her tone was a lot softer than most and even though her language made no sense to him he could detect the tone. If she got animated about something her voice became faster and a note higher. But most of the time it was even and light compared to any Cybertronian voice he'd heard. He supposed having her around for noise purposes wasn't too bad of an idea. Until he either found a way off the planet or got tired of it. However, she'd been talking for nearly two cycles and he found he didn't mind listening.


	6. Designations and Second Meetings

This pattern continued for I want to say a week. I lost count of the days and went on time based on my water and food supplies. Which were nearly gone at this point. My silent companion didn't seem much better off. I had half a bag of chips and half a bottle of water. He had half of a cube left. Neither of us were very happy and tried to cover as much ground as quickly as possible. On the bright side lack of water and food made it so I didn't have to go to the bathroom very often. On the downside I felt the dirtiest I have in my whole life and I doubted I smelt like flowers.

A thought came to me one night before the two of us drifted off. I wasn't too sure if he slept or dreamed but he did seem to power down at night and his eyes closed, or turned off. I hadn't even tried to learn his name. Here we'd been traveling for a while together and I didn't have a clue who he was. Or what he was for that matter. "A.J.," I tried to get across. I sat in front of him about ten feet away and pointed to myself. He opened his eyes and looked at me. He'd been doing that more often lately. "A.J.," I repeated. "You?" I pointed to him. He seemed to get me so I tried again. "A.J. You?"

~*~

This creature was trying to tell him her designation? He didn't mind her chatter, it had become pretty amusing lately even in his dry mood. But he honestly hadn't thought about the fact he didn't know who she was. Not that it meant anything. They couldn't communicate so why bother with designations? The most they'd be able to say would be butchered replicas of their designations and to what extent? He might have said two words to her after the ship and they were more to himself than to her.

~*~

"I know you know what the hell I'm saying buddy," I stood up and actually put my hands on my hips. I was so mad I didn't care. "So you gonna answer me or not?" He stared at me but there was no response. "Fine you asshat," I sneered at him and laid down. "I don't know why I bothered."

The next day I didn't feel like talking so I didn't. Why should I be the one talking all the time? Yeah his language kind of sucked on my ears but he could say more than two words. I sounded like such a whiny girl in my head and that didn't help my mood any. I pointedly glanced anywhere but at him when he looked back at me. I inwardly smirked when I noticed he did it more as the day went on and I didn't say anything.

~*~

She wasn't talking. She hadn't said a word since he refused to give her his designation last night. It shouldn't bother him in the slightest. In fact, he should be elated she was giving his audio sensors a rest for once. But… He wasn't. The silence that fell over them was a bit unnerving. He also noticed she wouldn't meet his gaze when he looked at her. A contrast to the smile she would give him any time he'd done it before.

But he was a Decepticon whether or not his former allies viewed him as such. And as such he shouldn't care what this tiny organic thought. It's not like he asked her to follow him in the first place. Regardless of what she might think they weren't allies or traveling companions. She was following him and that was it.

~*~

We kept on going through a good portion of the night and I couldn't find it in my exhausted form to care. My feet didn't hurt anymore because they'd gotten used to walking so much and all I wanted to do at this point was find some food and water. I'm sure I would kill for a shower.

We were still a good distance from the mountains but the terrain had changed a little. Rocks gutted up out of the ground and a couple of times we had to go around some miniature canyons and gorges. I wouldn't call them mountains or large rocks but I guess the next thing is hills. Only they were the same as the rest of this stupid planet and hard as shit to climb. More than once I'd nearly cut my hands or fallen. These things were wiping me out.

And that's when he delivered a cold blow. He was climbing up another one of these hills when I realized I would never be able to get up it. Any part I could use to grab was more his height than mine. I'd have to jump at least three times my own height. "Crap." I noticed he was still climbing. "Hey! Wait a minute! I can't climb this. Come on." He glanced back down at me but then continued with what he was doing. "What? You've got to be kidding me."

~*~

He glanced down at her form. She had no way to climb this but that wasn't his problem. He was fine. She called out to him and met his optics. He hesitated a second before he remembered he wasn't some sentimental Autobot. A bot would probably be carrying her but he was a Decepticon. Yeah she'd been a nice distraction but it was over. He'd deal with the silence. He looked down to her one more time before he went on his way.

~*~

"You asshole!" I grabbed a small rock and threw it up at his already gone form. "You better hope I don't get up there because when I do I'm going to kick your giant metal ass you toaster! Know what? I don't need you anyway. I'll find my own way." I walked off to go around the thing in a huff. Not like he was good company anyway. I'd be way better off alone. I could travel at my own pace and not worry about him leaving me behind. Not that I cared in the first place. "Stupid tin man."

I walked for maybe half an hour before my anger wore off but only a little. I walked at a way slower pace and was nearly dead on my feet. "Why is this desert so huge?" I sighed. It was then I heard something behind me. _I did not hear that. I did not hear that._ I heard it again. I thought it might be the wind before I reminded myself that's how most of the stupid girls die in horror movies. I debated whether I had a better chance if I turned around to see what it was. I figured if I was going to die I'd want to know what got me.

I did the quickest glance I'd ever made in my life. "OH SHIT!" I didn't wait but took off running. I heard it come thundering after me. It looked like some huge bear scale thing. As soon as I'd looked it had lunged and I ran. Fight or flight might just save my butt. It made a roar and I somehow went even faster which I didn't think possible. I turned a corner fast and heard it skid out behind me. I'd probably bought myself an extra ten seconds and I saw up ahead what I could use it on.

~*~

He decided to keep the pace he had. He'd covered a decent amount of ground. And that's when he heard it. He didn't know the words but he recognized the pitch. It was the organic. Only her voice was at a tone he hadn't heard before, even when she was angry. Two seconds later he found out why when there was some sort of growl/roar.

He told himself to keep going and ignore it. But even as he thought that his pedes carried him toward her voice. What he found made his spark go cold. She was perched on a small ledge in the side of a hill. Not two feet from where she stood was some sort of large organic predator with claws. It clawed at her and he saw she had to keep moving her feet to avoid it. As if that wasn't bad enough he saw red liquid coming out of her servos that reminded him of energon. Her optics seemed too large for her face and she peered around for an invisible solution.

He knew that look. She was pinned and had no way out but being ripped apart. That's when her optics landed on him. He could have sworn his spark leapt out at how terrified she looked. There was a voice in the back of his processor telling him it wasn't his problem. She was just an organic, one of billions. He was a Decepticon, he'd offlined thousands of his own kind. Only Autobots cared about puny helpless organics who couldn't protect themselves. Not cons…

"Frag it," he took a step forward.

~*~

I pretty much figured I was screwed even when Mr. Silent showed up. But to my surprise he stepped forward and the bear thing turned toward him. It didn't get much of a chance to do anything besides swing at him once. The next second he punched it in the head and smashed it off a rock. The thing let out one more pathetic sound before it crumbled silently down to the ground.

I stood there for a moment staring and I think my mouth was open. I slowly glanced back up at his face. He looked back at me. "Thanks," I smiled at him. "Sorry I called you a toaster earlier. You rocked! You nearly took that thing's head off. That was so cool. You came in and bam! Down it went."

~*~

It took him a moment to realize she was smiling at him and talking in that high pitched manner of hers he took as her being excited. She used her own hands as if to illustrate what he did and nearly fell off the ledge. Without thinking he offered her the none organic juice soaked servo. Though as soon as he did he wondered if it was a wise idea. She'd just witnessed him smash that creatures head in let alone what he could do to her small frame.

But to his surprise she jumped into it like it was nothing. She patted his arm and kept talking as she glanced around like she was supposed to be there. That's when he noticed she was losing her own liquid from her hands. He flung the juice off the other servo and then used it to point at that part of her.

~*~

"Huh?" I looked to where he was pointing. "Oh my hands. Yeah I scrapped them climbing up the rocks." I dug in my backpack and pulled out an extra shirt I had. I ripped it and used it to tie my hands, after reluctantly using some of the water I had left to clean them off first. "See?" I put up my hands. "All better."

~*~

She still sat in his servo and held up her own. She'd somehow managed to cover up the leak and smiled at him like he was the best being in the universe. He'd left her earlier and technically it was his fault she was in this situation and was injured. But either it didn't seem to bother her or she was overlooking it. "Drift," he told her. She looked up at him confused so he repeated it a few times and as slowly as he could and he used his free servo to point at himself.

~*~

"Dri-ft?" I got after he slowed down. He actually smiled at that and I nearly pooped my pants. It was the first expression I'd seen him use other than his irritated or indifferent face. "Drift!" Then he pointed at me and waited. "A.J."

~*~

"A...J.?" She beamed at that and shook her head in what he assumed was a yes. "A.J.," he repeated. It was odd but not a horrible name. Somehow it suited her.


	7. Closer

"So what happened to you, Drift?" I asked him. After that night our relationship had changed a bit. He would actually wait for me when I stopped to do anything, or slept. I had to yell at him to give me some privacy when I had to go to the restroom. I don't think he got what exactly I was doing but he knew me going behind a rock and telling him to stay put meant give me a minute.

I appreciated not having to run after him anymore. He'd also stop every now and then to make sure I was with him. A few times when I started to lag behind he would stop and offer me his hand to ride on. I smiled and got a couple rides out of it. He didn't seem to mind and we were able to go faster. Plus the view, even on this barren rock, was cool. It made me feel like a giant.

He especially did it when we came to any more hills. The first time he just sort of snatched me up and startled me. He said something I guess was an apology and put me on his shoulder while he climbed. I kind of felt like a parrot on a pirate's shoulder but didn't complain. It was better than walking or being left behind.

I talked like I did before but would actually get responses this time. He'd nod as if he understood, though we both knew he had no idea what I meant. Drift would even talk every once in a while. Most of the time though we ended up simply saying each other's names. It might sound stupid or childish, heck on Earth my siblings used to scream my name all the time to annoy me. But with Drift it didn't bother me. It's not like we knew anything else about each other or could pick up on it.

You know how sometimes you just have to look at someone or say one word to get your point across? Well that's how I felt in this situation. I think we confused each other at first doing it but then we got used to it. Reminded me of freaking Pokemon back home where all they did was repeat their own names. At least we were saying each other's.

He glanced down to where I sat in his hand when he heard his name. "What happened, Drift?" I repeated and gently patted a part of his arm where the paint was peeling off. Now that I was allowed this close I noticed he had some dents and parts where his paint looked like it needed redone.

His eyes got serious for a moment but he simply shook his head. Then he pointed to where my hands were still wrapped and said, "A.J."

"Guess we all have our scars don't we?" I lightly smiled at him. He nodded in semi-understanding and we continued on our way.

That night it was bitterly cold. I noticed the past couple of nights the temperature dropped the closer we got to the mountains. I shivered and tried to fall asleep. It was not happening.

~*~

She was shaking again. He didn't know why she did it but he picked up on how it happened more as the temperature dropped. Was her kind so fragile they couldn't even handle this little variance in temperature? It didn't faze him in the slightest.

But it was clearly bothering her and keeping her from properly recharging. He had seen her supplies were dwindling and nearly gone like his own. He had no way of knowing how long she could go without that stuff either. He was used to shortages and could go a decent amount of time before his systems became affected and he began malfunctioning or shutting down. Still, all this time and they hadn't made any progress.

In all honesty he didn't mind caring her. She was so light it was almost like she was air. But he'd rather not see her trying to recharge if he was climbing one of these hills and she needed to hold on. He'd caught her trying to do so the past couple of cycles and he didn't care for how dark the area under her optics were becoming.

"A.J.," he spoke her name. She slowly looked up at him from where she lay a short distance away. He motioned for her to come over. She seemed confused but groggily obliged. Maybe it was from her lack of recharge. He gently grabbed her and set her down on his straight leg. He leaned up against a hill and kept the other one bent so he could put one servo on it to keep himself up.

~*~

I didn't really know what to make of this. Yeah he'd carried me and everything but this was a new one. I sat and stared up at him but he only kept an eye out around us. Even though he was metal I was in no way complaining. He was warm and letting me sleep on him. That's all I needed. "Thanks Drift," I told him and laid down on his leg with my pack. It was plenty cold out but he gave off enough heat to keep me feeling all warm and fuzzy.

~*~

She laid down on him and fell into recharge fairly quickly. It still amazed him how she trusted him so entirely. She said his name and he smirked in the darkness. Before he felt himself slip into recharge he saw her smiling.


	8. Desperate Times: Part I

Things were not looking good from my perspective. Both of us had run out of food a couple days ago and now my water was gone too. I know I can roughly survive three days or so without it. I'd worry about food later. Drift didn't seem too worried and I wondered how long he could go without that blue stuff. There wasn't much we could do but keep going.

~*~

"A.J.," he said for the fifth time in a row. She finally looked up at him and gave a weak smile. Her supply had run out completely the previous cycle. He had noted her weight was decreasing and she seemed to be getting weaker. He'd resolved to carry her instead of letting her walk and she seemed fine with it. She was also recharging for longer periods of time and he wondered if it was an attempt to conserve energy.

"Drift," she replied and got up so they could get going.

~*~

"At least we're almost to those stupid mountains," I said. I yawned and fought to stay awake the rest of the day. I'd never been so hungry, thirsty, and tired in my life. My throat was as dry as the rocky area around us. My stomach growled and I told it to shut up already. There wasn't anything I could do about it. The lowest thing on my priority list was a shower but damn if I didn't need one.

~*~

That night she was shaking again. He wasn't sure why. The temperature hadn't declined that much. He thought it was due to her decreasing energy levels. "A.J.," he more sighed than anything. She didn't stir but he felt her continue to shake. He placed his servo gently on top of her. He didn't want to crush her but the extra heat from his servo did stop her shaking.

At this rate he wondered just how many more cycles she had left. He wasn't in a much better position if they couldn't find civilization. He kept thinking there might not be anything on this infernal planet. It wasn't exactly like he could call for help but something in him said to keep heading toward those mountains. A.J., even as weak as she was, seemed as determined as him. They just had to make it there.

He'd lived long enough to know when to trust his instincts. They told him something was waiting for them on those mountains.

~*~

"We made it," I said. I would have smiled but my lips were cracking as it was. Drift seemed as much on a mission as I did to reach them by nightfall. So I didn't bitch when we didn't stop and he carried me the whole time. I patted his hand and did smile at him in appreciation when he glanced down at me. I probably would have been dead if he wasn't helping me. Or I wouldn't have had the strength to make it there myself. He could have just left me with that bear thing but he didn't. Nor did he have to keep me warm every night or carry me but he did anyway.

~*~

A.J. appeared exhausted and malnourished to him. Still she smiled at him and pointed ahead to the mountains they would reach that same cycle. Such a little thing might not have mattered under different circumstances but to them it was an accomplishment. "A.J.," he said and gently patted her head. She used her tiny hands to actually reach up and hug his hand in return. The action startled him but just as soon as it happened it was over and they continued on.

When it grew dark they didn't stop. Right before the planet was engulfed in blackness there was a large gust of wind that came over from the top of those peaks. It was so great A.J. had to hold onto him or risk falling out of his palm and it nearly knocked him off his pedes. A light came over and revealed there was something there.

"Finally," he said and placed her on his shoulder as he went to climb. "Hold on, A.J."

~*~

I got a burst of energy when I saw that light. Apparently so did Drift because he was climbing like hell was on his butt. I thought the hills were challenging but they were nothing compared to this cliff. But I held on as he made his way up and over. I had no clue what was on the other side but whatever it was I'd face it.


	9. New Guy and a Fight

I'm not entirely sure what I expected. If I hadn't been on an alien planet hanging out with a sentient robot this would have blown my mind. As it was I thought the structure was both impressive and intimidating. This thing was all dark points and edges with lights radiating from the bottom. There were three pads on it that reminded me of where helicopters land. There were a few ship looking things on them. It was so huge it nearly reached the top of the mountain and even Drift was no more than a dot next to it.

But I wasn't exactly getting a good vibe from this thing and neither was Drift. He motioned for me to stay quiet as he snuck closer to it behind some rocks. I stayed on his shoulder and we looked over the structure.

It was then I got the same feeling I had when that bear thing was behind me. It wasn't noticeable but Drift moved his head about an inch back to look at me. He'd felt it too. So I held on as tight as I could. It's a good thing too because the next second he made his move.

He swung around and we got our first glimpse of who or what was behind us. The figure was roughly as big as Drift but was covered from head to foot in clothes with a sword on their back. The only part I could see was glowing golden eyes.

The mystery figure dodged as Drift brought his fist around and tried again but they jumped back. When he attempted to connect with a reverse punch the figure jumped up, stepped on Drift's shoulder I wasn't on, and did a flip through the air before they landed behind us. Drift's fist only left a crack in the mountain the figure had been standing in front of.

I kept a firm grip and I'm glad I did. If I hadn't I would have went flying. "Impressive," I admitted.

~*~

He'd missed whoever this figure was but turned to face them where they'd landed. A.J. said something from her position on his shoulder. He could feel her hanging on.

"Calm yourself, stranger," the figure said using one hand to grab his sword on his back. "I'm a friend."

"Friend?" he wasn't convinced. "You don't know me." He cast a quick glance to A.J. "Us."

"I don't need to know either of you to mean you no harm." The figure let go of the sword. "I am your ally, my name is Wing." There was a pause before he continued. "Where did you two come from? Neither of you are from this planet. Are there others of your kind with either of you?"

"I need to get out of here," Drift replied. "I need a ship."

"And your companion?"

"All I know is her name. You'd have to ask her yourself but she doesn't speak any language I recognize."

~*~

The figure pointed to me and said something along the lines of how Drift talks. I had no clue what he meant and could only stare at him. I held onto Drift and looked to him. At least one of us knew what the hell was going on.

~*~

The figures attempt to communicate didn't seem to work because all A.J. did was hold on tighter to him. "I told you. You're one of them?" he indicated the building. "They're friends of yours?"

"They're friend to no one," Wing pointed to some sort of holding cells. In them were all manner of creatures. "They're slave traders. They capture all manner of races and bring them here. You need a ship, I can help you. In turn you can help me."

"Help you?"

"I wish to free their captives. Alone it would be impossible, but together-"

Drift cut him off. "I'll need a gun." He glanced back to check the security of the place. "Two guns."

"We can strike the guards on the upper pass first," Wing directed. "You can use their armaments. Seeing as your companion cannot understand us she would be at a disadvantage. It would be best if you left her here and we will retrieve her later. Once we free the captives, we'll commander you a ship. You can take your companion and the captives with you."

"Not likely," he answered. A.J. was one thing. They had at least… Some mutual relationship. He didn't know any of the others and didn't wish to.

"I can't leave this planet," Wing explained. "You must do this. Helping another is the highest calling one can aspire to."

"You sound like an Autobot."

"What does an Autobot sound like?"

"Weak." Without a second thought he reached up and grabbed A.J. from his shoulder.

~*~

I had no clue what was going on or what the game plan was. All I saw was pointing and picked up from Drift's tone he wasn't too happy about all of this. He grabbed me and set me on the ground. "A.J.," he said and pointed at me. Then he said some more things and pointed at the ground.

"You… Want me to stay here?" I got across I figured it out. "Drift?" I asked before they walked away. "You watch yourself."

~*~

Wing wasn't sure what to make of the two of them. He'd heard stories of what Decepticons did to organics because they viewed them as being inferior and weak. Yet, here this one had been carrying one on his shoulder and had set her down with no trouble at all. Meaning he'd done it before. Then, he'd bent down and said what he guessed was her designation before trying to relay to her what was going on.

The organic did not seem to fear the con and stated what might have been the Decepticon's designation. She eyed him suspiciously before telling her companion something in an odd language. The con smirked down to her and they went on to execute their plan.

~*~

I watched them go over to a nearby cliff and saw two ugly looking aliens down there. What was worse is that I think they were carrying some sort of guns and they were as large as Drift and the mystery figure. "Oh boy." I knew they wanted me to stay put but I couldn't when they we're probably risking their lives.

So I followed not far behind them. I got over there in time to see Drift and Mr. Cloak jump at the fuglies from above. They slammed into them pretty hard and the one Drift was fighting managed to get a hand up. Drift barely managed to dodge as fire came out of it. "Holy hell!" But the next moment Drift head-butted the guy and he was down. That's when we both glanced over to see the figure had been caught in the flame. His clothes were practically burnt off but it revealed what he actually looked like.

He was a robot like Drift was. Different colors and his parts looked different but roughly the same. "Huh?" Apparently Drift was as shocked as I was. "Hold on I'm coming," I made my way down to join them.

~*~

"You're Cybertronian!" he exclaimed and pointed at him. "I knew you were an Autobot."

Wing didn't seem fazed but removed the rest of the burning cloth. "I'm not Autobot."

"Well you're no Decepticon that's for sure."

"Let's go."

"What are you?" he asked.

"Alone is what I am. I'm alone. Now if you want to get out of here we better move."

"Drift!" They turned to see A.J. had followed them.

"A.J.," he vented in frustration.

"She is persistent."

"You have no idea," Drift replied and picked up both of the guard's guns. "You may as well lead on. She'll follow us regardless of her own well-being. It'd be best if you got used to it."

~*~

Wing was reluctant to continue with the plan seeing the tiny organic follow them. But without one of them carrying her it would take her time to climb down the mountain on her own. Maybe enough for them to accomplish their plan. He did take note of how Drift seemed to slow his pace to match hers and glanced over to see if she was still there.

The organic in question followed the con and kept an eye on him. She didn't appear happy over their plan but he wondered if it was rooted in concern. Not for herself but for the con she was traveling with.

~*~

They perched on the cliff and kneeled so as not to be seen. He held both of the guns he'd stolen from the guards. ""The captives are directly below us," Wing told him.

"And the ship?"

"Far end. When the alarm sounds, you keep them back, I'll open the cells. With any luck our plan will be over by the time your companion joins us." He glanced down to A.J. but she scooted closer to him.

"I doubt it."

"What's your name?"

"Drift."

"Good luck, Drift." They got into position. "Ready?"

"Ready."

~*~

They jumped and I watched them land near the cells holding the other aliens. This new guy held some sort of knives. An alarm blared and I went as fast as I could climbing down to them. I noticed Drift take off toward one of the ships.

~*~

"Alarm!" Wing said over the flashing red lights and deafening noise. "We need to hurry!" He looked over to see Drift running toward one of the ships. "What are you doing?!"

~*~

I looked around as soon as I hit the ground. Drift was in front of one of the ships and this giant alien was behind him. "DRIFT!" I called out but it wasn't soon enough. The alien brought its enormous arms down on him and smashed him into the ground. "Drift!" I ran with all I had toward him.

"This can't be happening!" The new guy tried to grab me as I ran by but I slid under him and kept going with all the strength I had left. Drift tried to reach one of his guns but was smashed again. "Stop it!" I ran under the alien and to Drift's side.

He was all battered and this blue fluid was leaking out from everywhere. His face was so beaten in that one of his eyes was shattered and the other barely open. "No! Holy hell, no!" I touched the side of his face and I noticed we were being surrounded by some more of those ugly aliens. "GET AWAY FROM HIM!" I yelled at them.

~*~

He was in so much pain he couldn't move. Not that he'd even be able to as he felt his systems shutting down or malfunctioning. He could hear A.J. yelling out to him and then she was in his working optics field of vision. She looked frightened and more of the traders appeared around them. A.J. stood in front of him as if she could fight them off.

"I've never seen an alien like that," one said. "And a Decepticon. How interesting." The last image he saw was off A.J. shielding him from the traders as they smirked down at him.

~*~

I was beyond freaked. There was no way I could fight these guys off and Drift's eye turned off. "Drift! Come on stay awake! You can't leave me now!" To my surprise the new guy used some sick moves to knock a couple of the uglies aside and snatched me up. "What? Save him you idiot!" I pointed to Drift. I didn't have to worry too much though because he scooped Drift's broken body up and hoisted him on his other shoulder. Then he took off like a bolt of lightning.

We were fired at but new guy placed me on his shoulder and said something. I didn't need to be told to hold on as he climbed the mountain like it was nothing. Once we got to the top he did the same going down.

Then he transformed into what I'm assuming was an alien car like Drift could. I was in too much shock at the moment because he'd transformed with me still on his shoulder. Somehow I ended up inside of him on what was a seat. I noticed Drift's arm and figured he was on top of the new guy. "Drift. You better not die on me you asshat."

I didn't know what to do as we sped out of there and continued for a good bit before he sharply turned and went into some sort of cave entrance. There he transformed again, caught me in his hand, and put Drift back over his shoulder. He carried us down and we finally reached a set of stairs.

In what might have been both the longest and shortest trip of my life we came upon some giant looking shiny city underground. "Holy shit." The guy carrying us ran at breakneck speed and must have somehow called for backup. We were surrounded by more robots of all shapes, sizes, and colors. A few took ahold of Drift and carried him off into one of the enormous buildings. "DRIFT!" I yelled out and wanted to go after him to make sure they were going to help him. "Let go of me!" But the mysterious robot kept a firm grip on me and pointed to a different building. "No take me to Drift! You all have to help him please!"

Him and a couple other robots who'd stayed behind tried talking to me. I think in an effort to calm me down. I wasn't having any of it. "Drift. You come back you hear me?" Maybe it was lack of food, water, all the stress I'd just been through, me screaming at the top of my lungs, or being surrounded by strange robots in some sort of sparkling city. Probably a combination of all those things. I felt my eyes grow heavy and must have passed out because I didn't hear anything after that and all I saw was darkness.


	10. Wing

"NO!" I screamed myself awake. I felt my heart racing as images from my nightmare blared to life. "Drift?!" I glanced around. I was in some sort of white and blue room on a table. Some sort of soft cloth had been placed on top of me like a blanket and beneath me. _Where is Drift? Is he ok? Is he even alive?_

My thoughts were interrupted when the giant door opened and the new guy walked in. He saw I was wide awake and I didn't know what to do. Yeah he'd gotten us out of there but I knew nothing about him. I didn't even know his name.

~*~

The little organic looked at him with large frightened optics. "Calm yourself small one," he tried to convey a soothing tone. "I mean you no harm." He wasn't sure if she understood him so he approached her cautiously. "Are you alright?" He'd come in because he thought he'd heard her screaming.

She just stared at him a moment. "Drift?" she asked.

~*~

"Where is he?" I asked. "Can you take me to him?" I tried to stand up but collapsed again.

~*~

The creature collapsed. "Easy," he put up his servos in a peaceful manner. "You are weak and need to rest." Wing and the others had been worried when the creature had lapsed into recharge. While she was out some of the city's scientist had taken scans of her to see if they could determine what she was and what might be wrong.

None of them could say what she was or what language she might speak. Though they did discover what she was made out of and a few alarming facts about her physiology. None of them had come across a species so affected by their environment. They'd discovered she could only vent certain gases, consume specific material, and handle only particular conditions like temperature. It was a wonder she was able to survive on the planet to begin with.

Their scientists had formulated she needed to consume her version of energon soon or her internal systems would shut down. Apparently she'd already lost some of her mass. "I have something for you," he set down the material the scientists had given him after taking it out of a compartment.

~*~

He sat some stuff down in front of me. One was a tiny container of clear liquid and the other looked like a hunk of orange Jello. Normally I would be suspicious but at the sight of it my stomach growled and my throat itched. Cautiously I went to the liquid first. I picked it up, sniffed it, and even touched it with my pinky first before sampling it. "Water," I smiled before I drank half of it. I made myself hold off and wait to drink the rest. I knew if I drank too much I'd hurl. So I turned to the Jello looking stuff. I did the same procedure I did with the water before taking a little bite.

It might have looked like orange Jello but it didn't taste like it. It tasted like a mixture of pure fiber and apples. I fought the urge to spit it out and swallowed. I waited a while before taking another bite. It didn't seem to be hurting me and I was at least eating something. I finished it off and found myself full for the first time in a long while.

~*~

He watched to see if the creature would consume the material or not. Making a container that small had been a challenge but they were used to making things for mini bots. While she was half the size of the smallest mini bot he'd ever seen they'd done it. He was happy she seemed pleased with what he'd given her as she finished the liquid.

"Drift?" she was able to unsteadily stand up and ask. "You'll keep asking until I take you to him won't you?" She just looked him directly in the optics. "Alright."

~*~

He offered me his hand and I wasted no time in stepping into it. He lifted me up and carried me out of the room. We walked through various halls that almost looked brand new. The entire place looked like it had screens and computers built into it. Technology far beyond what I would be able to understand.

We passed a few other robots along the way that would stop and stare at me. Guess I was considered the alien here. But this guy didn't stop and we exited the place soon enough. When we got outside I got a better look at the city.

I'd been too freaked about Drift earlier to really get my baring's. I was right in the fact this place did literally sparkle. The buildings were as big to them as the skyscrapers to me on Earth. The entire place was made out of metal and mostly colored blues, greys, and blacks. However it was the opposite of dismal and if I didn't know better I would've said the place wasn't built too long ago.

He carried me across a bridge to a nearby building. We got more stares and I think a few of the robots tried to talk to him. I was thankful he would just reply, wave at them, and continue on his way. We entered the building and he got in what I think was an elevator.

We stepped out and he walked down a hallway before stopping at the fifth door. He typed something on a keypad next to the thing before he stepped in. And there he was… Drift laid on a table in the middle of the room.

He still looked like crap. Parts of him were still broken looking, shattered, or plain missing. But the rest of him looked new or repaired. "Drift," I softly said. There was another robot in the room who said something to the guy holding me.

~*~

"She wanted to come," he told the attending bot.

"I suppose it's alright. We have him stable but we're going to begin again shortly."

"We'll make this quick," he assured. He walked over and held her near Drift. She patted his servo and tried to reach out but couldn't reach the con. He glanced over to the attendant.

"Go ahead. I doubt she'd be able to do much."

He slowly placed her on the berth next to Drift. The organic nodded to him and then put her hand out as if to touch the con. Before she pulled it back like she was going to make things worse. "Go ahead," he told her and urged her on. "You're fine."

~*~

I'm guessing he gave me the go ahead and I put my hand on what was left of Drift's shoulder. "Hey," I said. "Good to see you're still around. You had me actually worried you moron. Why'd you have to… Never mind. We'll talk or not talk when you wake up. I'll let these guys fix you up."

The other guy in the room said something to my guide and he motioned we'd have to go. "I'll see you later ok? Just… Wake up soon."

~*~

He picked her up and they made their way outside. Before he could make it out of the building she patted his servo almost frantically and pointed to a door. "The washracks?" She kept at it. "Very well." He took her to see them just as the last of the mechs in there left. She glanced around in amazement before motioning to herself. "You wish to… Clean yourself?"

He hadn't thought about it. Yes they knew she wore clothes but none of them had thought she might be like them and need to clean herself.

~*~

"I can't believe you guys have a bathroom," he set me down. I had to watch cause some of the drain areas were nearly as big as I was. "Please if you're ever going to understand me do it now." The next half an hour I motioned for what I wanted to do and he actually helped me.

~*~

I set up a nozzle a mini bot would use to help her. I made sure it was the same of what she'd consumed earlier so there wasn't a chance of her being injured. I also adjusted it so the temperature and pressure would not harm her. She also pointed to a cloth she could dry herself with afterwards and I placed it where she could reach. Once everything was set up I waited a moment. She shifted from one pede to the other as if she didn't know what to do.

"Do you want privacy?" He and the others had come into contact with enough alien species to know not all of them had the same views of privacy the Cybertronians did. Some did not wish to be seen without their armor and often removed it when cleaning themselves. The thought of cleaning and removing armor was not foreign but the notion of hiding it from others was to his kind. Cybertronians were open with each other in that manner.

"I will return when you call me," he told her and left the room. He didn't have to worry about her trying to get out. She wouldn't be able to reach the pad to unlock it on her own.

~*~

"I'm in heaven," I finally got my shower. It was the longest, hottest, best one of my life. I also washed my clothes while I was in there and wrapped the cloth around myself like a towel. I was so glad I saw those guys leaving and wondered what this place was.

~*~

He heard the organic call out after a while and he entered. She used the cloth to cover herself and her old clothes were wet. It didn't surprise him too much she would want to clean her old armor. She motioned to her wet clothes and he motioned he would bring them too.

He carried her, gently, back to the room. He didn't want her to overexert herself. When he set her down though she stopped him by speaking. "Yes?"

"A.J.," she pointed to herself. He'd heard Drift call her that and believed it was her designation.

"Wing," he had to repeat a few times before she picked up on it.

~*~

"Wing?" he smiled and I knew I got it right. "Well thanks for everything. I needed it man and thank you for helping Drift."

~*~

He wondered if he was getting through to her. She had smiled at him and all he caught was his own name and Drift's. But he wondered if she was thanking him. "You are welcome A.J.," he returned the smile.


	11. Waiting for You

We figured out a system pretty quick on what I meant by: bathroom, restroom, food, water, and bed. The restroom bit was embarrassing but maybe they were able to tell I had to get rid of stuff downstairs. I was glad they were smart enough to rig up something I could use. In return I figured out this place was called Crystal City. Wing and the others were also called Cybertronians.

Beyond that we weren't able to get much across to each other. I told them I was from a planet called Earth and I was a human. I'm not sure which got more confused looks.

At least here I was doing alright. I was never hungry or thirsty. The place was beautiful and Wing was more than willing to take me around on tours. He always seemed to have an upbeat attitude. The others were all friendly enough and I felt more like a guest than an oddity. The language barrier was a pain in the ass but I think they were working on it.

I'd given them my phone. It was long dead by now and there wasn't much I could do with it. They examined it and it was puny compared to them. But they were analyzing the shit out of it and I think they were trying to power it up. It couldn't hurt at this point.

During the day Wing would take me on a tour of the city. It was large enough I could see something different every day. At night I would get to visit Drift and see how his repairs were coming along. He looked better every time I saw him and I think he was out of the danger zone.

My only problem was I was sleeping like shit. You'd think I'd be sleeping like a log. I had blankets to curl up with on the large metal bed so it wasn't uncomfortable. By now I think I would have been used to it seeing as I'd been roughing it in the dirt. I wasn't cold so that wasn't keeping me awake. It was on my third restless night there I finally figured it out.

I was used to sleeping with Drift near me, or as of lately with me on top of him. "You've got to be kidding me," I sighed and sat up in the darkness. I ruffled my hair and pushed the blankets off me. I'd never needed someone to sleep with me before. Well, not since I was four. Was it because of being on an alien planet? Or was I just used to him being near me in the darkness? My mind told me I was perfectly fine by myself. None of these Cybertronians were mean or harmful. They'd even given me this sweet room and everything I needed.

"Dammit," I got up and grabbed my bag. Something told me I wouldn't be able to sleep well until I went and saw him. They'd rigged up a wire I could use to get to the floor and bed since it was so big. They'd even taught me how to use the door and rigged up a smaller panel about my height. They're considerate I'll give them that.

They'd dimmed the lights in the city to illustrate how dark it was out but it was lit like how the street lights do on Earth. There wasn't too many Cybertronians, it seemed disrespectful to call them robots now that I knew what they were, up at this time. I was able to get there without being seen. Anyone up and about were used to looking there height not down. Except for a mini bot who I had to duck behind a larger bot's leg to avoid.

I made my way to what I figured was their version of a hospital and had to wait until someone left before I could run in. Once I did it was tricky getting into the elevator without being noticed but thankfully the guy in there had been carrying some supplied and didn't notice me. To get to the floor I wanted I had to throw my bag as hard as I could at the button. I missed the first couple of times and had to wait on those floors before I arrived at the right one.

That left the issue of how I was going to get in the room Drift was being held. I couldn't reach the pad the same way I did the elevator and hope to type in the right command. Instead I pried open an air vent I think was more used for repairs than anything else. It took all I had to get if off but I did and then I repeated the process with the one in the room. I put them back when I was done though.

No one was in there; even the attending bot that reminded me of a nurse was gone. Drift laid there on the bed with some lines of that blue stuff hooked up to him like IVs. Most of him was repaired but they were still fixing his head and right arm. "How you doing Drift?" I asked him from the floor. "Now how do I get up there?"

I unhooked part of my bag and jumped to toss the hook part on this circular control panel thing running around the bed. It took a few times but it caught and I hung there in the air with the rest of my bag. It wasn't fun climbing it and I thanked whatever company made my bag it was able to hold me. Once I reached the top of the panel it was easy to hop over to the bed where he was. "You have no idea how hard it is being this short around here." I walked up to his shoulders and sat near his head.

"You're really tough to take that kind of beating. You actually had me scared…" I used my bag as a pillow and laid down facing him. "Haven't done this in a while. I wonder what's going on in that battered head of yours. Do you guys dream or are you just turned off?" Of course there was no answer except the faint sound of the machines keeping track of his systems.

"Well you better wake up soon. Wing and the others are nice and all but you're the first Cybertronian I ever meet. You should be thrilled seeing as that makes you… Special to me in a way. I don't know why I'm sugar coating all of this. Even if you we're awake you wouldn't be able to understand me." I got up and moved a little closer to him. "See you in the morning Drift," I sighed and fell asleep.

~*~

Wing wasn't sure what to think. A.J. wasn't in her room, the washracks, or restroom they'd set up for her. No one he asked had seen her or knew where she might have gone. "Where could she be?" That's when the thought struck him. Where else would she go?

He made his way to where Drift was being repaired and saw the attending bot doing some preliminary scans before the last formatting. "I figured you'd come for her eventually. We should be finished within the cycle."

"That's good to hear," Wing walked over and saw what the attendant meant. A.J. laid curled up next to Drift's neck. She was nearly invisible in the junction between the con's shoulder and neck.

"I don't know why but she seems very attached to him," the bot said and walked off.

"A.J.?" he asked gently to wake her. She stirred but must not have been fully awake because she just grumbled something and turned over. She nuzzled into the cons side. "You must have missed him. I'm afraid it is time for us to go if you want him to be fully repaired." She said something that was more of a mumble and grabbed ahold of the con. "Come now. Drift will need all his energy." He saw her open her optics a small bit and slowly released Drift. Her optics closed once more when she was securely in his hand.

He'd noticed she had been less energetic this cycle. She simply wanted to recharge next to the con. It was a little odd. Perhaps she needed to be reassured he would be alright. She wanted to visit him at the end of every cycle. But it raised the question of why was she so connected to him? There was no denying she was at this point. Wing wondered if her feelings were somewhat reciprocated. The con had been traveling with her and had even carried her. But that didn't mean he could be sure.

A noise caught his attention as he began walking away with her. It was a change in the rhythm of the machine that monitored his spark. His spark was still even but had decreased in its energy. His optics widened. Had Drift, even in such a deep stasis, registered A.J.'s presence and when she was being taken away from him?

Most of his colleges and comrades would say it was a glitch. A random occurrence that could be written off but Wing wasn't going to ignore it. A.J. had clearly sought Drift out and he seemed to do better when she was near him. "I'll have to see once you wake up, Drift. The sooner the better, there's someone here waiting for you."


	12. Awake

I didn't get what Wing was trying to tell me at first the next day. Until he said Drift and we went there in the morning. That was unusual so I knew something was up. When we got to his room a bot I'd never seen before was there along with the doctor. They said some more things to me but in the end resorted to pointing at Drift. Whom I noticed was completely remade and shiny too.

"You guys really go all out," I smiled at them. "Thank you."

I think they got the sentiment because they smiled at me in return as Wing held me up. Not two seconds later Drift opened his now light blue eyes. "Drift," I smiled at him.

~*~

Drift opened his optics and was greeted with bright lights in a strange room with two bots, one from the other night, Wing, standing over him. "Drift!" he recognized that voice and saw a smiling A.J. being held in Wing's servo.

"All systems are back online?" Wing asked the medic. "He's moving."

"What's happening?" he sat up. "What… What's going on?"

"Your body was severely damaged," Wing answered him. "Almost completely destroyed."

"We rebuilt you, Decepticon," a larger bot said behind him. "Your life was saved."

"Rebuilt me?!" he jumped up and noticed A.J. acted as well as she practically flung herself out of Wing's servo after him while calling his name. He caught her before she could fall without thinking about it and continued heading for the door. "Who are you?"

"It's ok," Wing held up his servos in a peaceful manner. "You're safe. I took you and A.J. out of there. You would have died."

"Took me out of there?" he made it to the door but kept facing them. A.J. hugged his servo. "To where? Where is this…" He finally turned and looked. "Place?" He saw the city in all its glory.

"I told you," Wing joined him. "You're safe. No one will harm either of you here. Welcome to the New Crystal City." It was then Wing told him the history of the city. How its inhabitants, the Circle of Light, and others with the same mindset slipped away during the war and found this uninhabited planet. "We had the beginnings of a new society, a New Cybertron." Mostly the city consisted of those who didn't wish to take sides, scientists, and scholars.

"Ideological?" Drift was outraged. "We were at war for the future of Cybertron. We are at war for-"

"Your war damned the future of Cybertron," Wing countered.

"So I should have run? Crawled off to live underground in a city of cowards?"

"We rescued thousands and took action to protect what was left of the Cybertronian way of life. Look around you. This is no mere city. This is a utopia. No sickness, no poverty, no one forgotten to fall between the cracks. What is it you're actually fighting for?" Wing asked him. "What is it that convinced you to take up arms? You're no run-of-the-mill brute. You wouldn't have helped A.J. if you were. You believe in something. I can see it."

"You see nothing," he held A.J. closer to him. She seemed confused by what was going on but refused to let go of him.

"Cybertron was falling apart before the war. Our society was sick and bloated and rotten. Do you remember? Do you remember how difficult it was? Because for some, it was almost impossible. The war didn't come out of nowhere, I understand that. But could you have ever imagined anything like this? An end to suffering, to struggling. A peaceful city where no one is left behind. Tell me Decepticon, what do you think? Do you want to destroy this too?"

~*~

I had no idea what the hell Wing was telling Drift. I heard my name at some point and Cybertron. That was about it. Drift did not seem happy with these guys and I noticed he was the only one with the purple symbol on his chest. Did that mean something? I didn't care at this point. Drift was awake and up and about.

"Drift," I caught his attention. He glanced down at me for the first time since waking up. "A.J.," he replied with a smile. "Nice to see you up buddy," I hugged his hand again. I'm normally not into hugging but he could have died for all I know. He closed his hand around me as if to reciprocate the hug. I think that was the closest he was going to get without squishing me.

One of the bots that had been hanging around said something and gestured to me. Drift did not like that and I'm pretty sure whatever he said was their equivalent of a curse word. The other guy looked offended and Drift moved so I was facing the other way and his body basically blocked access to me. Wing stepped in and remarked about something. Things settled down and I held onto Drift even tighter. "Drift," I said and everyone glanced at me. "I'm not letting go of you yet."

~*~

"I told you she's staying with me," Drift spat at the bot.

"It's ok," Wing stated. "She can come with us. I have to go speak with someone."

"Alright." Wing led the way as Drift followed with A.J. in his servo. He noted how the con held her gently and didn't seem to want to put her down. He'd also saved her out of instinct earlier when she'd jumped out of his own servo. A.J. was the happiest he'd seen her and she seemed as reluctant as the con was to part. He felt a little bad that she was lost as to what was going on around her. But it didn't seem to matter where the con was concerned.


	13. Trouble In Paradise

Wing left the two outside as he went to discuss his actions with the Circle of Light. "You had no right brining a Decepticon here, Wing!" Dai Atlas yelled at him. "Let alone revealing yourself to the slavers."

"He was in need Dai Atlas, as was the organic called A.J., and the prisoners in that camp," Wing stated.

"The organic is one thing but he is a Decepticon!"

"He's one of our kind."

"Decepticons are not 'our kind'."

"So, after all these years of preaching against fractions, we've created our own, is that it?"

"We are the Circle of Light, the guardians of Cybertronian ancient culture. You know our laws; we must not involve ourselves with any outsiders! Nothing is more important than preserving what we have here!"

"The organic is one matter. She seems harmless but what if her people search for her? As for the Decepticon his ways could influence our people, Wing," Axe spoke up. "His very presence could potentially bring more Decepticons here and with them the war we've fought so long to avoid."

"Violence is their only language. If he betrays us, if he destroys what we have here, the burden will be yours and yours alone. For now the Decepticon is your responsibility. You will stay with him at all times. And he is not to be exposed to the people of this city."

"He won't betray us," Wing said. "I know he won't."

"And how can you possibly guarantee that? I also say we take the organic away from him. She seems as impressionable as our people and he cannot be trusted with her."

"That will only cause trouble for everyone involved," Wing was quick to point out. "Drift has shown no aggression what-so-ever toward A.J. and she will not be separated from him without going into hysterics. I do not believe any of us would wish her harm. And I do not think he would let her go without serious consequences."

"Very well, then she is also your responsibility as well as her safety. If the Decepticon harms her in any way it will be on your spark."

~*~

Drift still held A.J. and they were stared at as they waited for Wing to come out. He glared at anyone who stared at them or lingered too long. A.J. said something and it sounded like she was scolding him. Before they played their own little game where all they said is each other's names. This was entertaining until he spotted Wing and he didn't seem too happy. "Trouble in paradise?" he asked as the bot walked away.

"Follow me." He did and they soon ended up in some sort of training area that didn't look used. The floor even sparkled. Wing put down his sword and knives. "What does this stand for?" he asked pointing to the Decepticon symbol.

"This is the symbol of the Decepticons you know what-"

"What does it mean?"

"Strength, power, conviction…"

"Superiority? So you're the best then-the strongest-and because of that you should rule?"

"Yes."

"Prove it. No guns, no swords. Prove it. But put A.J. down first."

"Fine," Drift glared at him. "A.J.," he put her down and pointed toward the stands where there were seats. She might not be able to reach them but she could stand near them.

~*~

Once again I was in the dark as we came here and Wing pointed at the symbol. Things seemed to be getting heated and Drift set me down and motioned for me to step back. "Really? What are you guys going to do?" He motioned for me to step back and I sighed. "Fine but don't do anything stupid." I stepped back a little and watched.

Drift went to punch Wing but he dodged and pushed Drift in the chest. Drift went down and smacked his face on the floor. "What the?! He just woke up you idiot!" I ran over and got between them. "Stop it both of you!"

~*~

"Prove it," Wing taunted him. Before he could react A.J. ran in between them yelling. "A.J.," Wing spoke to her in a gentle tone and got down to one knee joint so he wouldn't tower over her. "It is alright. We are not going to hurt each other." He got to his feet and noticed A.J. did not appear happy about Wing's answer or any of this.

"I told you she's stubborn."

"Then she will just have to get used to this," he motioned for her to climb into his servo which she did. Then he walked over to one of the bleachers bots could set on. He lowered his servo and motioned for her to step onto the surface. She did reluctantly before Wing walked away. A.J.'s face betrayed her shock and anger as she berated them in her language.

She was effectively trapped on the seat because it was too high off the floor for her to jump. So she'd have to wait until one of them got her down. "Let's continue," Wing said.

"Gladly," he charged at the bot.

~*~

"What?! There's no… You did not just. You ASSHOLE!" He'd put me up here to get me out of the way. Now they were fighting again and ignoring me. "How dare you! The both of you!" They thought they could set me aside huh? I glanced over the end of the seat I was on and took note of the distance.

Normally I wouldn't jump from this high. It was about to their waists which was like three or four times my height. This was going to be risky. But I wasn't about to be set aside like some pet while they fought it out. Just because they were bigger didn't mean I had to take their shit. So, I steeled myself and jumped off the seat.

The trick to not breaking my legs or neck was to roll as soon as I landed to displace the energy. _(I do not support this in any manner and please don't do it in real life people. I don't want you breaking your necks.)_ It still stung when I hit and rolling hurt my shoulder a little but it was better than breaking something. Didn't mean I wasn't going to have one hell of a bruise tomorrow.

~*~

Wing easily blocked the punch. "We're going to do this every day. Every day, I'm going to give you the chance to prove me wrong." Wing kneed him in the stomach platting. "If you beat me, you're free to walk out of here. If you don't…"

He looked up at him from the floor. "If I don't?"

"You're here forever."

"Some deal, you've had years of training."

"And you haven't?" Wing inquired.

"Not without a gun."

"So learn Decepticon," Wing smirked at him. He got back up to his pedes and charged at him, this time he planned to kick him but his pede was caught in the air. "Too slow," Wing angled his leg to throw him through the air. The fall wouldn't be anything too serious and it would hurt his pride more than anything.

What they hadn't seen was a small organic making her way toward them and talking. Wing had inadvertently thrown Drift right at her. Both noticed a fraction of a second after Drift was thrown. Said organic stopped in her tracks but there wasn't much she could do. There was no possible way she could run out of the way in time.

~*~

He shouldn't have underestimated A.J. or her devotion to Drift. But he'd never thought she'd risk her health by jumping down from where he'd put her and run right into their fight! But there wasn't anything he could do as soon as he let Drift go. He saw her wide panicked optics staring at the situation and she managed to get out a small surprised sound as the con came barreling down on her.

He bolted over as soon as the con landed to see what he could do. But he didn't think it would be good and a part of his processor wondered if there'd be anything left of her besides a stain on the floor. He'd failed to protect her when her life was encharged to him. And what was worse was that he'd inadvertently used his other charge to offline her.

"A.J.!" His spark felt cold but almost stopped when he saw what had happened. Drift had somehow managed to flip himself around in the air so he landed on his arms and knees. He supported himself on his knee and elbow joints so that there was a small area underneath him. The angle seemed awkward and he wondered how much it had hurt to land in such a manner. But his optics were drawn to a tiny familiar figure underneath Drift's frame. It was almost impossible for him to comprehend but A.J. stared up at Drift from right under his chest plate.

~*~

"Holy shit," I got out. I hadn't planned for them not to hear me or for Wing to toss Drift right at my ass. I didn't have time to do anything but duck as he came flying at me. Surprisingly I wasn't turned into a puddle on the floor thanks to Drift's awesome moves. He'd landed in such a way to give me enough space so that I could lay flat on the floor beneath him. Any higher and I would have been screwed.

I'd banged my head in the process but it was better than it being ripped off. "That… Was… Close." I looked over and saw Wing from my limited view underneath Drift. "Hey Wing," I called as Drift slowly got up. "Next time don't aim for my head."

~*~

A.J. appeared fine. A bit shaken but for good reason. He got to his knee joints which protested a little at the action. If he hadn't acted as fast she would have been squished. She slowly got to her own pedes and rubbed the back of her helm. "Drift!" she smiled at him and hugged the nearest part of him which was his leg.

"You have good instincts," Wing told him looking down at the organic.

"You're just lucky she wasn't harmed," he offered her his servo and she climbed into it. He held her up and examined her himself but didn't find any injuries. "Drift," her tone reminded him of someone who would say they were fine. "A.J.," he replied finishing his examination.

~*~

"We're done for this cycle," Wing watched the two of them. They seemed not to hear him and were almost lost in their own little world as A.J. attempted to get Drift to back off and he acted like he was still looking her over to annoy her. Instead of being angry or mean both of them had playful smirks on their faces.


	14. We Don't Need Words

The next week was pretty mundane. Well, as mundane as hanging out with alien beings in a giant sparkling city could be. Wing followed me and Drift everywhere. Mostly, Drift from what I could gather. I also noticed Drift didn't go out besides to train with Wing in that arena place. I could go wherever I wanted but Drift didn't, or wasn't allowed to come with me.

I might not be able to understand their language but I could pick up on cues. I think Drift wanted to come with me but he got stares, even more than I did, from all the others. I think it had something to do with that purple symbol on his chest. So he didn't go out much. He just trained or hung out in our joint room.

It had been fun that first night after he woke up. Wing's face was priceless as Drift just brought me into the room he'd been given like it was nothing. I'm not sure if he pointed out if I had my own room or not but Drift didn't care and neither did I. A voice in the back of my head told me I was being needy having to sleep with him but I told it to shut the hell up. I'd just gotten him back and unless I had to go to the restroom I wasn't about to let him out of my sight. I think he was on the same frequency as me. We were roommates from that night on.

I didn't mind hanging out with Drift. If the bots running around this city couldn't deal with him for some reason well f*** them and their giant metal asses. I think Drift felt bad though that I didn't run around the city.

The stupid boys doubled teamed me one day. I think Wing told me something like I needed some me time or some shit before he handed me to a bot I'd met a few times before as he and Drift went off to train. I tried to protest but no one listened and I was carted to what I called the "zoo".

It had been one of the most interesting places Wing had shown me. It was a giant building that housed all sorts of robotic animals. They had what looked like cats, dogs, rabbits, foxes etc. I didn't think zoo was the right term but I didn't know what else to call it. The bot set me down on a table so I could watch as he brought the animals in one-by-one and checked them out. I think he was a vet or something.

I found out to steer clear of most of the animals because I was so much smaller than them. Except for what the vet called a retro-rabbit. It acted just like a normal bunny would. Weird how things were different but almost eerily similar here.

I missed the boys but it was good to have a day to myself. When it grew late out the bot offered to take me back but I waved him off and used charades to tell him I could walk back on my own. I was a big girl, well tiny to them, I could take care of myself and he seemed pretty busy. Seeing as I was being mostly carried these days a decent walk, which would have been short to them, wouldn't hurt me.

I had a smile on my face as I took my time getting back to the building where I knew they'd be training. Still… I couldn't help but have the same feeling I did on the night that bear thing chased me. But I had to be paranoid or something what would hurt me here?

~*~

"You are doing better Drift," Wing told him as they ended for the cycle.

"Not good enough apparently," was his answer.

Before the bot could reply he got a message from the center A.J. was at. "Wing?"

"Yes?" he answered.

"We have a slight problem. One of the glitchhounds got out and we believe it escaped the facility." What the bot said next made his spark nearly stop. "The organic was walking back to your location on her own…" He didn't wait for the rest of the message as he bolted and ordered Drift to follow him.

"What is it?" The Decepticon's optics widened when he told him what was wrong. "What are we waiting for?" he transformed and sped off. Wing was forced to do the same and followed.

~*~

I heard a noise behind me. It wouldn't have been a big deal but it was getting late and not a lot of bots were walking around. "Huh?" I glanced back and saw what had made the sound. Fifty feet away was a giant mechanical dog that was sniffing the ground. I froze for a second. Maybe it doesn't see me. It looked up and perked its ears up like it heard a rabbit. Oh crap it sees me. As much as I wanted to hold my ground the fact it charged at me kicked my instincts of self-preservation into overdrive. "Go away!" I yelled at it. "I'M NOT A CHEWTOY DAMMIT!"

Before it could catch up to me I heard the hum of a familiar engine. "Drift!" I called as he came speeding toward me. He didn't stop which startled me a bit but kept coming right at me. Before he could hit me though he transformed, jumped clean over me, and landed between me and the dog thing.

~*~

There was a loud 'clang' that sounded as the glitchhound ran into his legs. It stopped and looked up at him with a stupid look on its face. He roughly picked it up by the scruff of its neck and held it in the air. "What are you doing?" a bot asked him running up. It was the same one Wing had handed A.J. to earlier.

"Getting rid of a hindrance."

Wing caught up and transformed. "Drift A.J.'s fine. There's no need to harm the creature. It was simply following its instinct."

"Says the one who said A.J. would be safe at this center." The words obviously stung.

"Drift?" he glanced down and saw A.J. standing near his leg looking up at him. She didn't need to say anything but shook her head. He glanced between her and the pathetic looking glitchhound still in his grasp. He vented in frustration but handed the animal back to the other bot. "Here. Keep a better optic on your pets."

~*~

"Thanks Drift," I told him as he picked me up. "For everything." Yeah the dog might have hurt me but seeing him pick it up like that made me feel sorry for it. It reminded me way too much of the dogs back on my own planet. It technically hadn't done anything to me so it didn't deserve the same fate as the bear. I smiled at him after he handed it back to the vet and got me. "You rock. I didn't know you could transform like that at that speed. Makes me wonder how fast you can go. Imagine if you'd drive me around. You could probably get some good traction on these roads. Though we'd have to do it at night. Don't want to run anyone over."

~*~

Wing watched the two as A.J. talked at the con as he walked. He smiled down at her and his expression was the most peaceful Wing had seen since he'd met him. A.J. seemed just as excited as she gestured around while being gently held in his servo. Both knew he couldn't understand what she was saying but that didn't appear to matter. She kept one and Drift would add something every now and again. Some things didn't need words.


	15. Nice to Meet You

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The song used here is The End Is Where We Begin by Thousand Foot Krutch.

I cheered from the sidelines as the boys fought again. I tried to illustrate to Drift how to get at Wing but it would have helped if he could understand me. I had been hanging out with them this entire time and we couldn't get past one word answers. It was annoying. And that is when there was a breakthrough.

Someone must have called Wing because he stopped and took me and Drift on a little trip. We went to this lab place that had my phone.

**"I'm an alien**

**Cuz I'm not of this world**

**I have a name**

**but I've been changed, and now I can't stay the same,"**

I heard it as soon as we walked in. "Holy shit you guys charged my phone!" I said.

~*~

There was an odd noise coming from the device A.J. had given to the cities scientist. She perked up when she heard it and wanted immediately put down. "We've been trying to figure out how to work it," one of the bots stated. "But we can't get it to stop playing that recording."

They placed A.J. on the table with the device and she picked it up. After pressing a few things on it the recording stopped and she smiled. "We believe this device acts as a communicator. However, it is seriously underdeveloped compared to ours."

"Would she be able to contact her people?" Wing asked.

"No. The device does not appear to work without some sort of relay system. It must be set up on her home planet."

"So it won't work here?"

"Not in that sense. We were able to charge it and may be able to use those recordings on it along with some of the other systems to decode her language."

"That would certainly be helpful."

~*~

The scientists took my phone back and messed around with it some more. They did what I guessed were scans and plugged some wires and stuff into it. Images I couldn't understand flew across their computer screens. One of the scientists looked up and nodded at Wing. He turned to me.

"A.J. Can you understand me?"

I stood there for a moment and I think my mouth was wide open. "Yes!" I regained my senses and nearly shouted. "You're loud and clear."

~*~

Wing appeared to speak in her language and A.J. got excited. He stopped leaning against the wall and watched the exchange. So they finally cracked her language? He knew this should be a good thing. He'd finally be able to understand what she said in her rants and reply accordingly. But he couldn't help but feel some apprehension. A.J. had been with him for a good amount of time.

He was getting used to her being around. She was there first thing in the morning, spent time with him while and after he trained, and recharged next to or on him every night. Unlike Wing who had to be there she wanted to be with him. She'd talk at him for hours even though he had no clue as to what she said. The only time they were apart was when she had to use the 'restroom' or washracks.

Now it could all change. She'd spent so much time with him because she knew him. But if she could talk with everyone then they'd tell her about him. About what he was. How would she look at him then? Would she still want to talk to him? Would she greet him with a smile every morning? Or would she look at him like the others? Would she be like Wing and try to 'save him'?

He tried to shrug it off. She was just an organic and he was a Decepticon. He wasn't a sentimental Autobot. But… He couldn't help but feel the same sense he had when he first meet Gasket. Looking at her now he could have sworn she had the same smile he did.

~*~

"Drift!" I exclaimed. I noticed he was standing off to the side. "I just wanted to tell you hello officially," I walked over as far as the table would let me. "I didn't get to say it the first time we met. Oh and while I remember it thank you for saving me from that bear thing out there and that glitchhound. You were awesome!"

~*~

She still smiled at him. She kept looking up at him with those light green optics. He wondered just how long that would last. "A.J.," he finally spoke up.

"Yes?"

"It's nice to meet you too."


	16. A Friend

It was weird actually being able to talk with everyone. They were still nice and everything but I guess I was just used to ranting and no one being able to understand me. Now that they could I found I didn't want to talk as much. Plus, I noticed Drift seemed more on edge. He didn't seem to like it when others talked to me and I think he was trying to keep me away from everyone, even Wing.

For the most part it wasn't too hard for him but since Wing was our practical stalker we couldn't ditch him. But now that I could talk with them it was time to clear some things up. I told them how I had no idea how I'd gotten there, where I was from, and roughly what it was like. "This place is awesome. It all looks really new."

In return Drift seemed to stiffen up and held me closer to him. That's when Wing got into an explanation of where I was and why they were underground. He told me about a war that was raging on between two groups called the Autobots and Decepticons. They stood for different things and had basically destroyed their home planet. It was also when I found out Drift was a Decepticon or con for short. Some guy named Dai Atlas had ruled me and Drift were Wings responsibility. But Drift wasn't allowed to leave, he couldn't go anywhere without Wing, and he couldn't interact with anyone else.

As he told me everything I could feel Drift getting more on edge. The way he looked at me made me think he thought I would jump out of his hand, or servo as they called it, any second. When he was finished I got a rough explanation of what landed Drift on this planet. Once they were both done they looked at me as if expecting something.

"So you were, or are, a Decepticon? That's what the symbol means?" I asked pointing to it.

"Yes."

"And that's why you can't go anywhere without Wing practically up your tailpipe? Why you two fight every day? Because if you win then you can leave?" Both of them nodded. "I just wanted to make sure I got everything right. Now, and I mean no disrespect to your culture… But that is utter and complete. BULLSHIT!"

~*~

Drift had prepared himself for many reactions. Anywhere from disbelief to disgust at being near him. But not anger directed at the new Crystal City's leader and council. "This is so unfair. They can't keep you here against your will. Don't you say anything either Wing," she directed her rant at the bot. "I thanked you for saving Drift and me and I mean it. I'm also thankful you defended him but come on. You're not much better. Where is this Dai Atlas? I want to talk to him myself."

"Please calm down, A.J.," Wing tried.

~*~

"Calm down? I am calm! You haven't seen me pissed off yet." It took Wing all afternoon to calm me down and Drift pointed out how yelling at our hosts wouldn't be the best thing. So I relented but told them I wasn't happy about this and now that I could talk with them I'd help Drift train.

~*~

They often didn't get many of her curses and they didn't seem to translate well but her point was clear. "You're…" he finally spoke up. "Not angry at me?" he asked her once they were alone in their shared room.

"No, why would I be?"

"I am a Decepticon. We are not known for being friends to organics. Also does it not bother you?" He stopped a second. "That I left you, three times. You could have perished."

She tilted her head up at him as if considering what he was saying. Then she sat down on one of his outstretched legs on the berth. "No and here's why. At the time yeah I was irate but you came back. You let me come with you, and then you saved me from the bear. As for the last time…" She stopped. "You would have come back for me. I know it." She scooted up closer to his chest plate. "Drift. I know I'm just a small, stupid, human. I might be overthinking things by considering us friends. But it doesn't matter to me that you're a con. The past is the past. We can't change it. We can only go on and hope for the best. I for one am happy. Who else can say they get to see an alien planet and met Cybertronians? Yeah I know you're not happy here and that sucks. But if you want to leave then I'll help you. Hell I'll travel the whole universe with you… Just as long as we're together I don't care. Boy that last part came out a bit sappy. Sorry about that but you get the point."

He stared at her long and hard. Moments passed by that felt like cycles but it was only seconds. He brought up his servo and picked her up. "A.J."

~*~

"Yes?" I looked up at him. I felt a little embarrassed over what I'd said. I wasn't one to show my feelings but I rambled and it just came out. I hoped Drift didn't think I was overstepping.

"You are not stupid. You may be small and organic but you are clever, caring, and outspoken. You stayed with me after all I've done." His eyes, or optics, took on a strange light I hadn't seen before. "When you look at me you always have a smile. You don't see this symbol on my chest or my past. You see me as a friend. I have not had someone call me that in a long time." He brought me up and gently put his head to mine. It was like a gentle head-butt. "I thank you my friend."

"No problem Drift," I smiled. I wasn't sure what this meant in his culture but I appreciated it just the same. "What are friends for?" I got the feeling we were on the same level about everything.

~*~

The next cycle Wing noticed Drift and A.J. seemed to be in good moods. He wasn't sure what had transpired between them but it appeared as if A.J. could have cared less Drift was a con. "Get ready, Wing," she warned him. "Because we're going to kick you aft!"

Things transpired much like that for the next few weeks. When they trained A.J. would yell out hints to Drift on how he could improve. While she might be too small to practice on them it turned out she was trained in what her people called 'Martial Arts'. She knew how to defend herself and what to do in a fight. He thought it was more than a mere coincidence that Drift previously had no training in hand-to-hand combat but A.J. did and he was the one to find her. Of all the beings they could have meet they ran into each other in this universe.

"It's ok, Drift," she looked up at the con as they walked back to their room. "We'll get him tomorrow. Wing you're not too bad but just you wait." She broke off when she noticed some bots nearby pointing at Drift's symbol. He wasn't sure if her organic ears could pick up on it but he knew Drift also heard how they said the word, 'Decepticon.' "Hey, Drift?" she patted his servo. "Want me to go hand those guys their own afts? Because I hate it when bots don't have the courage to say something to the person's FACE!" Said bots appeared flustered and got out of there.

Drift let out a chuckle. "Now that would be a sight wouldn't it?" he held her up and put her on his shoulder.

A.J. was an individual to say the least. There were times that she made them do a double take. One time was when she asked for a small knife. It was difficult to find her one she would use but they succeeded. "Thanks guys," she said and went about cutting the fur, she referred to as hair, off her head. They panicked at first and immediately took the knife off of her.

"What are you doing?" Wing demanded.

"I'm cutting my hair. It's getting so long it's going into my eyes and it's getting annoying." She stopped in Drift's grip as if she just understood. "Oh you guys don't get it." That's when she clarified it by explaining cutting her hair off didn't hurt and that most humans did it. They found it odd she could cut off her hair and it didn't hurt but tugging on it would.

~*~

But that incident was nothing compared to one week. It started off by Drift breaking down his door and telling him they needed the medical bots while he held A.J. in his servos. She said she was fine but when Wing saw she was losing her red energon he did the same as Drift as they bolted to the medical ward. "I told you guys I'm fine!" she protested as she was being scanned.

"But you're losing your red energon," the physician said.

"It's blood and it's something my species does. Well, just the girls…" Her face got red and that was the cycle they learned what she was going through. They'd never heard of a species where their females went through such a thing. She appeared more upset over their reaction and the fact she had to clean her pants than anything else. They dealt with it and moved on.

~*~

It surprised me was all. I guess the nearly dying thing knocked me out of sync. Though I did take a picture of their faces when I told them what it was. I'd learned they didn't really have something like that. Though they technically didn't have sexes. Other species they meet them gave them terms like mech and femme to work with but they just viewed it has having different models.

"Go Drift," I called sitting on the bleacher. "To the left. The left!" He missed. "Crap." My cramps started up again. "Shitballs. I wish I had aspirin."

~*~

Drift stopped when he heard her tone shift. She'd explained that along with losing her 'blood' she would get mood swings, eat more, bloat, and have cramps. It seemed horrible but she brushed it off and said she'd dealt with it her whole life. Still, he didn't like seeing her in pain and there was nothing any of them could do. "We're done for the day," he told Wing walking off. He picked her up and they made their way to get her something to eat.

"You didn't have to do that," she replied. "I'm fine." Even as she said that she must have been in pain because her voice lightly betrayed her.

"It is alright A.J.," Wing told her. "We're only sorry we can't do something for your pain."

"Well life isn't fair," she retorted. "I can deal. But I'd appreciate it if you two wouldn't act like I'm going to break any second."

Her face contorted into a frown. He didn't like seeing her like this. Wing wanted to say something but he held up his servo to stop him. "You are right A.J." She looked up at him. "You may be smaller than us but you have proven you are far from fragile. We just don't like seeing you in pain."

She sighed. "Thanks Drift. You always know what to say."

He smiled at her and to Wing's and everyone around them surprise he brought her up and put his head to hers. She smiled and laughed a bit before the two walked off as if they didn't have a care in the world.


	17. How You Remind Me

A.J. often asked him what it was like to transform. She liked to see him do it. Something so common for him was extraordinary for her. He never thought of what it would be like to be stuck in one mode his entire life. That's when she asked if he would give her a ride.

At first he didn't know what to say. He wasn't a personal transporter. But as she looked up at him with those big sad optics he felt his determination wane and sure enough she got her ride. He found he didn't mind doing it. A.J. liked to go as fast as he did and when he drifted. "Yeah!" she yelled.

"Be careful, Drift," Wing fought to keep up with them.

"Faster! Faster!" she cheered.

~*~

I really liked how fast Drift could go. He could slide better than any pro I'd ever seen. Though he did have a sort of advantage seeing as he was the machine and driver. We often did it in our free time and I couldn't help but laugh a little at how Wing couldn't seem to keep up with us. He might be better at sword fighting but Drift was an expert racer.

Another activity we did was listening to the music I had on my phone. They had songs and everything but apparently no one had come up with anything new in ages due to this war. They liked my music even if they didn't get most of it. I think they liked the beat and the few times we listened to it out in the open I noticed it got most of the other bots attention. I heard someone the next day trying to either imitate the beat or remix it into their own version.

Our days passed by much the same with a couple variations. Training, listening to music, driving around. I even started learning their language. They were lucky they could just upload the information directly into their head. I had to learn it the old fashioned way. Drift and Wing were pretty good teachers but I was a little limited. I couldn't make all the same sounds they could or even hear some of them. I was better off on writing and reading it.

Seeing as I didn't have much else to focus on I found I could pick up most of it fast. Wing even got me some small data pads I could read stories on. It was hard to write seeing as most of their pens were pretty big but I got used to it.

"A.J.?" Wing asked one day as we waited for Drift to get out of the washracks.

"Yes?" I put down the data pad I'd been reading.

"Do you know the meaning of the action Drift does with connecting your heads?"

"Not really," I admitted. I'd learned a good deal about their culture but that never seemed to come up. "What does it mean?"

"It is a sign of deep affection between friends," he answered. "It symbolizes trust and admiration among our kind."

"Huh," Drift liked me that much? That was nice to know. "It reminds me of hugs back on Earth between friends. Does it mean anything else?"

Wing went into detail on how it could mean something else if both parties were in a relationship. He told me they did have not only friendships but romantic ones as well. I was curious about that and we compared notes on how humans and Cybertronian relationships differed. Instead of hugging they would do the forehead thing which could hold varying degrees of affection. They did hold hands which were reserved for romantic couples, very close friends, or a child and parent. They didn't have anything like kissing but I think their version of it would be putting the sides of their faces together and gently rubbing them. I had to fight the picture of cats that kept popping up in my head.

Drift came out just when Wing brought up the notion of interfacing. There were varying degrees of that too. Apparently they were more open than most humans about their intimacies. I got over it and compared notes. They only interfaced with those they cared about but there was also something called a sparkmerge they could do. It was the ultimate connection they could have with one another.

The closest thing we had was marriage and I don't think it came anywhere close to this. If they sparkmerged they could literally see through one another optics if they wanted, could feel each other's emotions, and talk without speaking. Not too many bots did this though due to the war. It was bad when they told me how if one bot got killed then their partner would offline as well out of grief. They were called Conjunx Enduras or sparkmates. Then I learned how they had kids.

Drift didn't know what to think of how A.J.'s species reproduced. She related how the closest thing to a sparkmate for her would be a wife or husband. Neither him nor Wing knew what to think about how her kind could throw away their mates so casually. Her own sire had left his previous mate to take another. As far as he knew this wasn't possible for his kind unless the relationship hadn't progressed to being bonded.

They had come into contact with many species but hers was the only one where females and males of the species were so evenly matched in population. And unlike a Cybteronian only the females of her species could carry their young. It was also shocking to hear how many didn't want the young they brought into this world. A concept foreign to Cybertronians were a spark could only come from the well of Allsparks or from the merging of sparkmates.

~*~

We eventually got off the topic of relationships and me and Drift went to turn in for the night. "A.J.?" he asked me.

"Yeah?"

"Do you have a sparkmate?"

"That came out of nowhere. No I don't. I've never even had the chance to hold someone's hand er… Servo before. No one's ever seemed interested in me. What about you?"

"I have not had someone to care about in a long time," he answered.

"You did though," I stated. I could read it on his face.

"Once, many vorns ago I cared for someone. But he offlined before we…"

"Got intimate?" I asked.

"Yes." I walked up and patted his leg.

"Sorry. Does it hurt to talk about him?"

"Somewhat. I care for his memory but I have not thought about him until recently." He looked down at me and put his servo around me as if in a hug. "You remind me of him a great deal."

"Really?" I was a bit shocked. "What was his name? If you don't mind me asking."

"His name was Gasket."


	18. A Second Chance

"You're other right!" I yelled but it was too late.

""Too slow," Wing stepped to the side and dodged him. "We've been at this for weeks; you're still too obvious with your attacks. Hide your intentions." He used Drift's momentum to pick him up and toss him clean across the room. "Come on Drift, where's all that Decepticon power and superiority? If you want to conquer the galaxy, you need to try harder than that."

I winced when Drift landed on his shoulder. "That's not why I joined," I heard Drift nearly whisper.

"What?" Wing asked.

"That's not why I joined!" Drift shoved him away. "I didn't join to 'conquer' anything." He got back up to his feet and I ran over to them. "I was alone, discarded on the street when I was found, when he took me in."

"Megatron?" Wing inquired.

"No… Gasket." He told us what Gasket had tried to do by banding bots like Drift together. How he had died and that Drift killed all the guards in retaliation. From then on he was sought out by the cons and put to good use in their ranks. "You said it yourself. Cybertron was rotten to the core. How many of us were forgotten? How many were being left to die on the streets while the politicians grew rich?" He turned to face Wing again. "Something had to be done. Someone had to make a stand."

"There was another way," Wing stated.

"No, there was no other way." He went on to tell us about how he met Megatron once and rose through the ranks.

"But can't you see?" Wing asked. "Look where it got us, look what it did to Cybertron."

"The old ways weren't working," Drift picked me up. "We needed a new system, a new order."

"But not through war and killing. You say there wasn't another way yet we found it. Equality and peace all around you. This city holds everything you ever wanted." He put a servo on Drift's shoulder. "Your spark might have been in the right place, but somewhere along the line you lost your way. Megatron used you, all of you. But unlike the rest, you've got a second chance." For some reason both of them looked down at me when Wing said that.

Wing got a call and we had to go with him to the control room. "We're picking up a widespread transmission," some bot said when we walked in. "Not sure from where exactly."

"And it's in code," I knew that guy must have been Dai Atlas from Wing's descriptions.

"Any idea what it says, Axe?" Wing asked one guy.

"None."

"We were of the opinion you could help," Dai Atlas turned to Drift.

"Me? No," he kept a surprised face but I could tell something was up. "I've got no idea what it says."

~*~

"Drift," I waited until we were alone later. "What's up?"

"Nothing A.J.," he said as we made it to the library. Wing had to stay behind and do a few things before he could join us.

"You're lying. I know you too well so don't try to bullshit me on this."

"I said everything's fine," he put me down and started walking away.

"Where are you going?"

He stopped and I could hear his vents kick in. They only did that if he was exercising, driving, or agitated. "I'll be back shortly. I'm just going to get some energon."

"But Wing said…"

"I'll be back," he cut me off and drove away.

I had a bad feeling in the pit of my stomach about all of this. But what else was I supposed to do? I couldn't get in touch with Wing until he found me and I didn't want Drift to get in trouble. Drift might have been a con but I trusted him. I guess I didn't want to face the possibility I could be wrong about him. "You better not do anything stupid, Drifter," I sighed.


	19. Desperate Times: Part II

Drift didn't like keeping A.J. in the dark like that or leaving her behind but he couldn't take her with him. He cautiously made his way up and out of the city. He traveled across the barren planet by moonlight to the coordinates the message had said. He stopped when he ran into some old acquaintances.

"You look different, Decepticon," the alien he'd seen smirking at him when he was injured said. It was flanked on either side by beings that looked like the one who had beaten him. "Upgrades? I'm glad you felt you could trust us. I can imagine you mustn't felt very safe after our last meeting." It took a few steps forward. "No harm will come to you. As I mentioned in the message, I have struck a lucrative deal involving your escape from this planet."

"How did you do that? How did you use Decepticon decoding in your message?"

"That? Well, it seems this little planet is becoming quite popular with your kind," he looked behind him and Drift turned.

"Lockdown!" he recognized the other con instantly.

"Deadlock," he spoke. "Megatron is displeased."

"But first we have a deal, Lockdown," the alien spoke again. "This Decepticon will give me the location of his new friends and that interesting pet he had with him. Or he will never leave this planet alive."

~*~

"A.J.," Wing came up to me and looked around. Uh oh. "Where's Drift?" was his first question.

"I don't know?"

He scooped me up and we traversed the city looking for him. Finally, after about an hour we did near the cave entrance overlooking the city. "Drift!" we both called out to him as he stood there staring down at the city.

"Where have you been?" Wing asked.

I noticed the look on his face and ran up to him after Wing put me down. "What's going on?"

"I can't believe you'd sneak out like that!"

"I'm a **Decepticon** Wing, remember?" he asked picking me up.

"I thought you'd realize going out there could get you **killed**. I thought that we… I thought that you wouldn't try."

"Don't scare me like that again, Drifter," I told him hugging his hand.

"It was that message, wasn't it?"

"You stand against the Knights' laws," Drift stated. "You're one of them, but you're different. Why do you do it? Why do you break their rules?"

"I told you when we first met, helping another is the highest cause one can aspire to. I do it because I think it's right."

"Take her," Drift handed me to Wing as he walked past him.

"Drift?" I called.

"Where are you going?" Wing asked. He didn't answer but transformed and sped off as we were forced to follow. He went through the city at top speed and ended up where we'd seen Wing go in to talk to the council the day Drift woke up.

~*~

He told Wing to hold A.J. because he didn't want her associated with what he had done. He burst into the chamber. "You're in danger. All of you." He faced all of them just as Wing and A.J. caught up to him. "There's an army of slavers out there preparing for war, and very soon they'll be on your doorstep."

"What?" Axe asked.

"How could you possibly know that?" Dai Atlas demanded.

"Because I just made a deal with them to sell you out for my freedom."

~*~

Drift told us about how he meet up with this con named Lockdown and the slavers leader Braid. They told him he could leave with Lockdown after he showed them where the others were. They could see he was repaired and knew there had to be more than just Wing running around. Braid explained to him how his kind were looking to make themselves immortal and that the bots would do just fine.

Also kind of creeped me out how Braid wanted me as well. That he'd never seen one of my kind before. I guess Megatron really wanted Drift back and they wanted him to lie to all of us and get us out in the open. I noticed he wisely left out the fact there was an entire city here. Now he had one cycle to deliver us or else.

"You did **what**?" Dai Atlas yelled. _This isn't good_. I think I got why Drift wanted Wing to hold me.

"I had to do it. I'm not going to do it. But I had to make them think I would."

The Axe guy came up and put the tip of his sword to Drift's neck. "Confusing statements aren't exactly in your best interest right now." I motioned for Wing to put me down and he reluctantly did.

"The message you received," Drift explained putting his hands up. "It had a hidden message meant for me. A Decepticon hunter named Lockdown tracked me to this planet. He made a deal with the slavers, and they made a deal with me. I had to agree to the deal, there was nothing else I could do." The sword was removed and put away. "They've given me one solar cycle, whatever that is here, to send them your location and lead you into an ambush."

"And what would you have us do?" Dai Atlas asked.

"Prepare for battle, Dai Atlas. Go to war. They don't know how many we have here-" Out of nowhere Dai Atlas backhanded him. I saw blue energon come out of Drift's mouth and pieces of metal went flying.

"Drift!" I ran over to him.

"Lock him up!" Dai Atlas ordered.

"That won't change anything," Drift told him. He picked me up when I motioned for him to do so. Maybe with me in his hand he wouldn't get hit again. "I know I'm a Decepticon. I know you hate me, but I'm on your side."

"Of course you are," Dai Atlas got in his face again. "Right up until you lead us into that ambush."

"Why?" one council member that sounded like a girl asked him.

"Why what?"

"Why are you on our side?"

Drift glanced over to a smirking Wing and down at me before he answered. "Because I've found something worth fighting for. Because it's the right thing to do. Because I want what you have," he smiled. "It's what I've always wanted. And if we don't do something they're going to take it all away." His tone and face got serious again. "They know you're here now. The number-one reason you've never been found is because no one has been looking. Before long they'll find this place. They'll find it, and they'll tear it apart. Surely you have weapons…" He turned to Axe.

"We do. In the vault."

"This is all because of you!" Dai Atlas yelled at him. "This is your **fault**!"

"Hey!" I spoke up. "Yes it might be his fault but at least he's **trying** to do something about it instead of pointing fingers and yelling!"

"Stay out of this organic!"

"Do not talk to her like that," Drift told him. "She is right. I'm trying to save you."

"Like you saved Cybertron?"

"You can't blame him for the whole damn war you aft!" I stated. "So quite acting like he's Megatron himself and help us come up with a useful idea. If not shut your damn mouth." I nearly growled out the last bit.

"Do you think they have the means to find us?" Axe asked.

"Absolutely," Drift answered.

"Impossible," Dai Atlas had to say.

"It's not."

"It is. We are completely hidden here. They will never find us."

"You are so in denial it's pathetic," I said.

"I alone have access to the vault. I alone can give the command for war. And I will not! We can't do anything that could reveal our position here. This city and all its people must remain a secret."

"Dai Atlas," the femme spoke. "They will find us. Surely you can see that."

"Somehow I doubt that," I pointed out.

"Our civilization is untouched by war. All of Cybertron's culture is here. I will not jeopardize that."

"We don't have to," Wing said. "They know something is out here, but they're not sure what. They only saw me. Drift can send them a false location. One that leads them toward where I'm hiding, somewhere away from the city."

"You're suggesting giving your own life for Crystal City?" the fem inquired.

"Yes."

"It won't work," Drift pointed out.

"He's right," I added. "They know you aren't the only one out here. You couldn't have rebuilt Drift yourself."

"I was careful not to mention the city," Drift finished. "But they know there's more than one."

"Then let there be more than one," Axe spoke up.

"What are you doing?" Dai Atlas questioned.

"What must be done. I will go with Wing. I will fight."

"You will die."

"So the city may live."

"We will go," the femme stated along with the council.

"Count me in. Maybe we can make a fake ship somewhere nearby as a distraction. They wouldn't think to look for an entire city."

"A.J. you are not going," Drift tried.

"Oh yes I am. No way am I letting you guys risk your lives without me. Besides the slavers know about me too. If I don't show up they'll be suspicious and look for me. So you might as well save it and figure out some type of weapon for me to use."

"This is madness," Dai Atlas said. "You will die, all of you."

"You said it yourself," the femme defended. "We are the guardians of Cybertronian culture. If that cannot be sacrificed, then we must."

~*~

Drift and I noticed Dai Atlas walking off as everyone else got ready. "Why are you doing this?" Drift asked him. "With a fully armed city of Cybertronians behind us, we could overcome the slavers and put an end to their threat."

"And save their prisoners," I added.

"Is that what it means to be Cybertronian now? War?" he countered.

"It's not as though Cybertron hasn't been at war before. Our civil war was one thing. I can see why you made the choice you did, but this is different."

"It's all the same."

"I don't get it," I said. "Wing told us your story. You're a veteran, the oldest knight, you've been in a ton of wars before."

"How could you not-" Drift took up. "Is that it? All those wars?"

"You can't face it anymore?" I asked.

"You'd risk the lives of everyone in the city because you're scared?" Drift questioned. "What has all that fighting done to you, Dai Atlas? Made you a coward?"

"Maybe," he turned and looked at us. "But I'll take that over the alternative. Look what it did to you. And if she survives this what it will do to her."


	20. With Honour

"I don't care if he does have a troubled past," I told Drift. "I still think he's an aft."

"A.J.," we heard Wing say behind us. "Drift, we need you to send the false coordinates. We found something we can use as a ship. It won't take long to put it into position, then we'll be ready to go. You know you two don't need to fight with us. You could stay here. Once this is over you'll both be safe."

"No, this is my fault," Drift said. "I need to do this."

"And we can't have those slavers suspicious of anything," I pointed out. "Or they might call backup and you'll be back to square one."

"Well then, once Drift sends the coordinates, you both need to come with me. If you're with us, you better look the part."

You know it took them ages to charge my phone and figure out my language. But it took only a few hours to make a fake ship and get everyone ready. Drift and I were separated as he went to get some new armor. Also they were able to make me some armor to wear. It was like a suit. **(I based it off of the exosuit Verity wears. Only the color scheme is an aquamarine to reflect her hair color.)** They even added some blades to the ends of the arms and the feet were wheels. I wasn't about to complain seeing as we were going off to probably our deaths and this suit was epic.

They raised the ship into position before the slavers and con could arrive. I joined the others as we went to make our stand. "Looking good A.J.," Wing told me.

"Thanks." I noticed he was looking behind me.

"Oh ho! A new look." I saw what he meant when I saw Drift's new armor and two swords.

"Our final members have arrived!" Axe told everyone.

"You ready to go, Drift you must have gone into battle like this countless times," Wing sharpened his knife.

~*~

Drift thought of how none of his previous battles were anything like this. All of those he stood with now were willing to sacrifice themselves for the innocent. "I'm ready."

"What about you A.J. nervous?" Wing asked. It was her first time. She glanced between the two of them smiled.

"No way. Now let's go kick their afts!"

~*~

"This will be a good death," Axe said as we stood outside the ship waiting.

"The ruse is complete," Wing stated. "For all our enemy knows, we're all there is. With our passing, the secret of Crystal City will be protected."

"Just swords, then?" Drift asked.

"We Knights are forbidden to carry anything else."

"Well, can't you at least use the big one?" he pointed to the one on Wing's back.

"The great swords are ancient, older than any of us. When a great sword is drawn, it uses the very spark of its bearer to inflict damage on its opponent. We will only draw a great sword in times of extreme need."

"And what the heck do you call this?" I inquired seeing our opponents coming toward us.

"This?" Axe inquired. "Haha… I call this a warmup."

"Hey, Drift, Wing?" I threw out there. "If this really is it I just wanted you guys to know something."

"What is it A.J.?" Wing questioned.

"A.J. isn't my real name. It's just a nickname. My real name is Honour Ali Jstone. I never really used it because it's so old fashioned but I thought you two might want to know it before we head out." They both looked at me.

"It suits you," Drift replied with a smile.

"This is a good sign," Wing smiled at me as well. "We have honour on our side."

With that the slavers came at us but we met them fast and hard. Swords were drawn and used to reflect laser blasts. There were sounds of scrapping metal and yelling that was hard to distinguish. "They'll have none of you, Drift," Axe told him holding one alien up by his throat. "If you plan on betraying us, now's the time." In answer Drift sliced one slaver's head off and blasted one of the bigger ones. "Haha! That's the way, lad!"

One advantage of being so small is that none of the slavers thought to look down. Most of the Knights were their height so they had no reason to. I used that to my advantage. "That's gotta hurt," I said as I used the wheels to sped under everyone and the blades to cut their legs and ankles. They toppled over pretty quick.

~*~

Meanwhile.

Dai Atlas stood alone in the dark of the main control room. "How many wars? How many battles? I can't, not again… I can't." He brought up a hologram of the battle so he could watch it.

~*~

"A.J.!" Drift yelled after me. "Stay near me."

"I'm fine," I said and cut some dude's leg clean off. "You just watch yourself."

"Keep your rhythm, Drift," Wing warned. "Head up, eyes on your next opponent, not your last," he brought two of his swords down into one alien's head. "And be aware of your surroundings A.J.," he told me.

~*~

Braid was watching from his perch on a nearby cliff. "That one's trouble," he whipped out a spear. He jumped down and smirked as Wing turned to face him. "You."

~*~

Drift turned and saw the two of them clash. "He's the least of your concerns," a voice said behind him. Lockdown stood there and appeared pissed. "You've betrayed your kind. Give me **one** good reason not to kill you where you stand." In return Drift opened fire on him. "Fool!" he knocked the blasters from Drift's servos. "You're a **Decepticon**! What could they **possibly** have offered you that would make you turn on us?"

"What I've **always** wanted," he kicked the con right in his chestplate. "The promise of a better Cybertron. Or have you forgotten why we started all of this in the first place, Lockdown?"

"Idealists," the con recovered and charged him. "You'll be the death of us all."

~*~

"DRIFT!" I saw a bomb headed right at him and the guy he was fighting. As I was distracted one of the slavers picked me up. The bomb went off and sent the both of them flying. "Let go of me!" I yelled at the alien but all he did was laugh.

I saw Drift was bleeding and looked pretty beat up where he'd landed. And that's when I glanced over and saw Wing. He was on his knees and was reaching for his big sword. But Braid brought his spear down right through Wing's chest. There was a flash of bright blue light that came from there when it happened and Wing's mouth opened in a silent scream he never got out. **"NO**!" I wasn't sure who was screaming louder, me or Drift.


	21. Desperate Times: Finale

Dai Atlas saw the whole thing on the screens and screamed just as loud as Drift and A.J. " **No**!" He slammed his servo down on the console. "How many? How many more do I need to lose?" He got up and headed out the door.

~*~

"Argh!" I saw Drift charge Braid only to be kicked away.

"Let… Me… Go," I spat at the slaver holding me.

"Or what?" it taunted.

I managed to wriggle one of my arms free and slashed down. It cut his hand off and I fell to the ground. "I warned you," I said heading right for Drift.

"You're wounded, slow," Braid smirked and slashed Drift's middle. "Think you'll fair better than your friend, Decepticon?" Drift tried to get him with a sword but Braid dodged and even did a flip in the air. He punched him in the chest. "You move like he does, but you lack his finesse."

I jumped up from behind him and slashed into his shoulder. "You need to shut up you ugly ass freak!" I exclaimed.

"Oh," he whirled on me and snatched me up before I could get away. I tried to slice him but he grabbed where the arm was and ripped it off the suit. Guess I was lucky it didn't take my real arm with it. "Looks like your little pet has decided to join us." He smirked down at me but I was able to bend up and shove the other blade into his arm that held me. "That's for Wing you ass!"

"Little annoyance!" he threw me and I smacked into a rock. I felt the suit basically give out and I may have cracked a rib. "I may not bother dissecting you after all," he laughed at me as I struggled to get out of the now useless suit that was practically in pieces. "Instead, I'll have the fun of training you."

"Hey, Braid," an angry voice said behind him. Drift had somehow gotten back up to his feet and smashed his face into Braid's. "Gahhn!" the slaver cried out in pain.

"Drift!" I threw off the last piece of the suit as he fell completely to the ground. His frame shook and I wasn't sure if he could get back up this time. My heart pounded as I bolted over to where he laid. "Drift!" I yelled as that freaky alien recovered. "Come on," I climbed onto his chest. "Get up!"

"A.J.," he rasped out in pain. "Run."

"No," I answered him. "I'm not going to leave you."

"Well," the alien smirked at us and raised his spear. "Isn't that sweet."

As I sat there looking between where Wing lay, the alien, and Drift I felt myself shaking. I wasn't as strong as I originally thought. I was merely indifferent to my old boring life. Being strong meant standing up even when there's no chance you'll win. Of defending those you care about even if you have to sacrifice yourself to do it. It's facing true fear head on even if you're terrified. It's everything our friend Wing represented and now he's gone. Cut down by that bastard smirking as he walked over to us holding that large spear up.

And right now I have to admit I feel like shitting my pants. Time to nut-up or shut up. "You want him you'll have to get through me first you giant piece of slag!"

"How adorable," he picked me up in one of his giant metal hands. I bit it but it didn't seem to have much effect. "Your little pet has spirit Decepticon," he told Drift. "I can't wait to break it."

"Put her down or so help me…" Drift growled out.

"Save it con, you're mine and so is your pet. I'll slice you up along with your friend and use you for parts!" He held the tip of the spear right over Drift's head. I fought with everything I had to get out of his grasp. I managed to wriggle enough room for my arms to move. And that's when the ground started to rumble.


	22. Off to See the Stars

The ground shook so much it vibrated my bones. Everyone looked around, slavers and Cybertronians alike, like what the hell? That's when an entire mountain shifted and a familiar sight came rising up into view. It was the entire Crystal City. "Hell yeah!" I said and punched the metal arm that held me with everything I had. It hurt like shit but it had the desired effect.

Braid was so distracted from the city he dropped me without thinking about it and Drift managed to catch me before I hit the ground. He slowly got back up to his pedes and placed me on his shoulder. "Hang on," he told me.

"You just get that aft," I replied.

Dai Atlas appeared at the gates holding his sword with probably every bot in the whole city. " **Cybertronains**!" He yelled. " **For Crystal City**!" They all charged with their weapons at the severely outnumbered and now terrified slavers.

"No! No!" Braid exclaimed.

"Hey, fugly!" I called.

"We're not done yet," Drift picked up Wing's big sword and held his middle as he approached the slaver.

"You can hardly stand," the slaver grinned. "What can you possibly hope to do, Decepticon? Sick your pet on me? That worked so well last time."

"I'm not a pet you glitch!"

"And I am **not** ," Drift readied the sword and charged. "A **Decepticon**!" He slashed the sword down right through the spear and sliced the slaver clean in half.

"You did it," I hugged the side of his head.

"No," he smiled. " **We** did it."

"Uh oh," I pointed up the cliff to where the con stood. He appeared as broken and battered as Drift but looked pissed beyond belief. Him and Drift stared at each other for a time before the con walked off.

We looked back to the battlefield. There were dead slavers and Cybertronians all over the place. Some mutilated beyond belief. "Don't look A.J.," Drift told me as I leaned further into the side of his head. We saw Dai Atlas and the others standing around the fallen body of Wing.

Drift limped over and we joined them. "This could have been prevented. I was a fool. Crystal City will no longer be hidden. Our message of peace will be heard." He turned to us and offered Drift his servo. "Will you join us, Drift? A.J.?" I was honestly a little surprised he asked me too.

We shared a look and I nodded as he offered him Wing's sword. "I am honored Dai Atlas, but I must refuse."

"I'm with Drift on this one."

"When we first meet, I promised Wing I'd help him free the slaves and return them to their homes. That's a promise I intend to keep."

"And I'm not letting him go this alone."

"Then what will you two do?" Axe asked.

"I'm not sure," Drift answered. "Most likely accompany A.J. and try to find her homeworld. I don't know where I belong anymore. Not with the Decepticons, obviously. Logic would dictate I join the Autobots, but… I'm not convinced."

"Who knows?" I shrugged. "Maybe we'll find Earth or maybe we won't. Either way it's going to be one hell of a trip. It'll probably take a while but we'll have time to figure things out."

"Then take this," Dai Atlas offered Drift Wing's sword. "We will prepare your armor as well," he told me. "Let them serve as reminders of who you both are and what you have achieved here. No matter what you two eventually choose, remember to stay true to your new path and to uphold your honour. You both will always be two of us. The war is far from over, but each day we take one step closer to real peace." I noticed Drift had the same smile I did. "And with any luck, young knights, one day, far from here you too will find peace."

~*~

Everyone was really nice as they made us a ship to use to help take every ex-slave home. Said aliens were overjoyed to be free and some of them were able to take a few of the slaver's old ships and go home on their own. The rest were willing to wait until we were ready to give them a ride. We decided it would be best after all of the fallen were properly mourned and given a funeral. The Knights kept their word and fixed my armor along with repairing Drift.

They even had a little surprise for us the day we were leaving. It looked like a cryotube or something from a sci fi movie. "What is it?" I asked.

"It is a way to temporarily put you in stasis," the mech answered. "We have also made some for a few of the others you are taking with you."

"Does this have something to do with how long this trips going to be?" I knew Drift was a bit upset about it when he figured out how short my lifespan is. Even with these fast engines it might take months or years to reach some of these alien's worlds which meant I could die of old age before we take the last one home. I guess a couple of other species had somewhat the same limitations I did. I wondered how we were going to get around this.

~*~

Drift was overjoyed to see the scientists had found a way to save not only his passengers but A.J. as well. Her species didn't live nearly as long as Cybertronians could. It was pretty alarming. With this technology he could put her in a temporary stasis that would sustain her and keep her virtually unaged until the next time he opened it. This meant she could theoretically live as long as he could.

A.J. and the other passengers were thrilled at the news. However, she stated she would only get into one on one condition. "You have to wake me up if you find any really cool planets or species. Then you can send me off to dreamland again and we'll be on our way. But I don't want to miss the whole trip while I'm napping." He swore to release her and wake her up if he found anything she would enjoy.

Finally, the time had come. The entire city had basically come to see them off and the scientists and engineers made their final checks of everything before everyone was situated for the journey. "Ok A.J.," he said. "You're the last one who needs to be put into stasis."

"Ok," she said a bit hesitantly. He didn't blame her for being nervous. The tubes were not only a lifeline but he himself had thought of all the possible things that could go wrong. He'd check them every cycle on the journey to make sure they were in proper working order. One little mistake and those tubes might as well be coffins. She could offline in her recharge and never realize it.

~*~

I looked out one more time at the planet, the city in all its glory, the bots who'd helped us, and the ship one more time. "Alright," I told Drift as he picked me up to take me inside. The walk seemed to only last a few seconds before we reached my tube. I wasn't nervous about going in there per say. I trusted Drift to watch over me while I slept and make sure I did alright. "Hey, Drift?" I asked before he put me in.

"Yes?" I motioned for him to bring me closer to his face and he did.

"I hope you don't take this the wrong way but…" I broke off and rubbed the side of my face against his. When I pulled back he was staring at me and I hoped I didn't do it incorrectly.

"You…"

"Yeah, I like you. A lot. Boy that sounds lame. Guess there's no real cool way to say it. I…" I actually gulped. "Love you."

~*~

He couldn't help but stare for a moment. She loved him? He couldn't believe it. After everything he'd done she was not only willing to overlook that but accept it and love him for who he was. He'd never gotten the chance with Gasket although he felt their feelings were mutual. But A.J. wasn't Gasket and she wasn't a mere substitution.

He knew he cared for her, considered her the only close friend he had left now that Wing was gone. He'd also realized he cared for her more deeply than he first thought or admitted. He didn't want to think too much on the subject. Not because she was a different species from his own but because he thought she would never reciprocate his true feelings. He thought she would want someone better than himself. He had been willing to stay friends if it meant he could remain by her side.

"Honour," he used her real name. She looked back up into his optics and he rubbed the side of his face as gently against hers as he could manage. "I love you as well."

~*~

I couldn't help but smile. "You sure you want a human?" The tube could only work so much for me here. Eventually I'd grow old and die, long before Drift. Plus, I would never be able to sparkmerge with him, have a bond, or give him sparklings. The relationship seemed doomed just from those but if I went into that tube and never came out I knew I'd regret not at least telling him.

~*~

"Are you sure you want an ex-con?" She smiled at him and hugged his helm as much as she could. Eventually she pulled back and he was prepared to put her in the tube. "Have a pleasant recharge, my love," he told her placing her inside but not letting go of her yet.

"You sure know how to sweet-talk a femme, good looking." She patted his servo. "If you ever get lonely don't be afraid to wake me up for a chat. Ok Drifter?" she used her nickname for him and kissed his servo.

He couldn't return that gesture but hugged her with his servo. "I will." In one of the hardest moments of his life he let her go and she waited for him to close it. "Pleasant recharge, Honour."

"Goodnight," was the last thing she said with a smile before he closed it.

~*~

He smiled at me as he closed the tube and pressed a few buttons. It wouldn't hurt and I'd be asleep in a few seconds thanks to some gas seeping into the tube. Then I'd be frozen. I wasn't scared. Not because I didn't care what happened, I did. But because I knew Drift would take care of me and be there when I woke up. I yawned and felt my eyes grow heavy. The last thing I saw was Drift standing outside the tube.

My mind slowed down and I fought to keep conscious just a little longer. I smiled as I thought about where we were going and what we might see. I said a final goodbye to Wing and asked him to wish us luck with his sword. Me and Drift's journey was just getting started and I couldn't wait to wake up.

~*~

Drift rested a servo on A.J.'s tube a moment longer before he made his way to pilot the ship. He would come and check on her soon. He felt a twinge and missed her a little already but a smile still played on his features. All he'd have to do is wake her up. "I'll see you soon, my Conjunx Endura. We are off to see the stars."


End file.
